‘PhD, Master’s degrees not valuable, mullahs are greatest of all without any degree’: Claims the new Taliban Education Minister in Afghanistan

Screengrab of the video

Three weeks after Kabul fell at the hands of the Taliban, the newly appointed Minister for Higher Education Sheikh Molvi Noorullah Munir rejected the relevance of higher education in Afghanistan.

In a video that has now surfaced on social media, Munir claimed that Mullahs (Islamic clerics) are the greatest of all despite having no higher education degrees. “No PhD degree, master’s degree is valuable today. You see that the Mullahs and Taliban that are in the power, have no PhD, MA or even a high school degree, but are the greatest of all,” he emphasised.

https://twitter.com/sashna111/status/1435300979352739842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

On Tuesday, the Taliban announced the names of cabinet members of the interim government, which will rule the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ till a permanent government is constituted. It will be led by Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund (Prime Minister) and two of his deputies, namely, Mullah Abdus Salam and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. The acting Prime Minister was chosen by the supreme leader of the Taliban aka Maulvi Haibatullah Akhundzada.

Ban on co-education, segregation of classes on the basis of gender

Earlier, it was reported that the Islamic fundamentalists banned co-education in Herat, which is the third-largest city of Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The Talibs had described co-education as the ‘root of all evils in society. This was, in fact, the first ‘fatwa’ issued by the Taliban after its takeover. Further, it was decided that women lecturers would be allowed to teach only female students and not male students. The decision was taken after a meeting was held between professors, owners of private institutions and Taliban leaders.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia