UNICEF to pay stipend to Afghan teachers as ’emergency support’

The United Nations children’s agency says it will pay Afghan teachers a monthly stipend for at least two months.

Salaries have been unpaid for months as the country plunged into economic crisis due to sanctions imposed by some Western governments on the Taliban administration.

The stipends of roughly $100 per month will be funded by the European Union and will be paid – in Afghanis – to some 194,000 primary and secondary school teachers for January and February, UNICEF said in a statement on Sunday.

“Following months of uncertainty and hardship for many teachers, we are pleased to extend emergency support to public school teachers in Afghanistan who have spared no effort to keep children learning,” said Mohamed Ayoya, the representative for UNICEF Afghanistan.

The country has been in economic crisis since the Taliban took over last August as foreign forces withdrew.

Restrictions on the banking sector due to sanctions and a drop-off in development funding left the new administration struggling to pay many public sector salaries, including for teachers.

The international community has been grappling with how to engage with the Taliban without formally recognising their government, and has made education for girls a key demand when speaking with the group, according to diplomats.

The Taliban has been vague on their plans for girls’ education; many of them are still unable to attend secondary school in many provinces.

However, the group said it is working on plans to allow girls to return to school and is opening universities this month with women attending.