Universities in Afghanistan ‘no longer functioning’
Universities in Afghanistan are no longer functioning as “real academic spaces”, according to scholars inside the country who describe ideological control, administrative purges and escalating personal risk for researchers who remain.
Academics in Afghanistan, speaking to Times Higher Education on condition of anonymity for safety reasons, described a higher education system where merit-based progression has been replaced by political criteria and academic work is conducted under constant self-censorship since the Taliban regained control of the country in 2021.
“A typical day is shaped less by academic work and more by uncertainty and risk management,” one male scholar in his early 50s said. “I still try to keep a routine…but the normal rhythm of university life has been replaced by caution.”
Campus life, he said, feels “more controlled and emotionally heavy”, with colleagues avoiding open discussion and students careful about what they say. “There is a persistent sense that academic work must fit within ideological expectations rather than academic standards.”
The turning point came after the fall of the US-backed government, when “merit-based academic systems started to collapse and decisions about faculty became increasingly political or ideological rather than based on teaching, research or performance”, one academic said.
He described experiencing “career pressure and institutional exclusion, removal from some institutional roles without transparent process and the blocking or delaying of academic progression despite meeting formal requirements”.
Last year the Taliban imposed tighter controls on universities and temporarily suspended access to the internet, cutting off the last lifeline to learning for many.
Governance structures, the academics said, have been reshaped through what one described as “administrative purges” that displaced experienced leaders.
Many senior figures have left the country, while those who remain operate under “uncertainty, limited academic freedom, reduced resources and a constant need to avoid attention”.
Restrictions operate both explicitly and informally. “In reality, informal restrictions are often stronger, because nobody can clearly predict what will be considered unacceptable, so people censor themselves before anyone else does.”
Research touching on social policy, governance, rights or media is widely avoided. Even in technical fields, international collaboration, external funding and any visible links with foreign universities or networks can create suspicion, “even when the work is purely academic”.
Censorship extends to teaching materials and research outputs. “Standard international textbooks can be rejected simply because they include human or animal figures,” one said.
Some publications are blocked unless they include Quranic verses, “even when the subject is purely math, physics or engineering”.
Another academic said that library materials have been removed or banned, further limiting what students and faculty can access. Monitoring bodies are visible on campus.
“They can shape how people dress, how they interact and how openly they speak,” one said. “Even when enforcement is not constant, the possibility of being reported discourages free academic discussion.”
Expressing views or conducting research perceived as “inconsistent” with Taliban ideology, one academic warned, can lead to retaliation “including harassment, arrest or imprisonment”.
The removal of women from higher education in 2022 has, they said, caused lasting institutional damage. “It has damaged universities in multiple ways, including loss of talent and capability, the collapse of academic diversity and classroom quality, breaks in the professional pipeline as well as demoralisation and the loss of hope among students and staff.”
Asked whether universities can function without women, one replied: “They may continue operating as buildings that deliver instruction, but they cannot function as real universities, in the sense of inclusive knowledge production, academic freedom and national capacity-building, while excluding half of society.”
International support remains important but must be carefully designed. “Helpful support includes fellowships, visiting scholar positions and safe pathways for at-risk academics. Remote access to journals, libraries, software, training and mentorship, support for displaced women students to continue degrees abroad or online and quiet, secure partnerships that do not expose individuals to retaliation.”
By contrast, “public initiatives that name individuals inside Afghanistan” and “high-visibility engagement without safety planning” can increase risk.
“At minimum,” one academic said, universities would need the “restoration of women’s access to education and academic work, academic freedom and reduced ideological control over curriculum and research, merit-based governance and transparent academic processes, stable access to information and global scholarly exchange, as well as protection of scholars from retaliation.”
For many, the loss is both institutional and personal. “I chose academia because I believed engineering education and research are direct paths to national development,” one said.
“Losing that role is not only the loss of a job. It is the loss of a public service identity, a research future built over many years and the ability to contribute freely to rebuilding Afghanistan.”