President Ashraf Ghani says serious steps have been taken to improve the security situation in Kabul, pledging facilitation and reforms of private schools.
Ghani made the remarks during a meeting with principals of private schools in Kabul on Saturday evening, the presidential spokesman said on Sunday
Recently, suicide bombers targeted a private educational center and a sports club in the west of Kabul, killing and wounding more than 200 people.
Private schools’ officials slammed the recent attacks were against national unity. They promised no one would be allowed to fan ethnic or sectarian divisions among Afghans.
They urged the president to order a reduction in taxes, simplification of private school regulations, scrapping of non-essential licenses and availability of textbooks through the ministry concerned.
In a statement, the presidential spokesman said the private school representatives also demanded a cut in power tariff for training centers and inclusion of three teachers in Human Resource Council.
Ghani agreed: “The attack in the west of Kabul was an assault on Afghan national and religious unity.” Major changes had been made in Kabul’s security leadership to improve the situation, he added.
The president asked school administrators to evaluate threats in coordination with security forces so that focused steps were taken to resolve the issue.
He added the capital had been divided into four security zones and there was a department responsible for the protection of the western part.
Ghani directed the acting minister of education to work on amending private school regulations in consultation with their heads. The private schools should have legitimate licenses end unnecessary documentation should be eliminated, he said.
Ghani ordered the Finance Ministry, Office of Administrative Affairs at the Presidential Palace and the power utility to minimize the taxes and electricity tariff for private schools.
