Taliban issue bachelor’s degrees to 325 madrassa graduates, including from Pakistan

The Taliban-run higher education ministry has begun issuing bachelor’s degrees to 325 madrassa graduates, including alumni of religious schools in Pakistan, according to a ministry statement and an official list.

The ministry said the process started on Thursday, Feb. 12. Among those set to receive degrees are 10 graduates of what it described as “jihadi” madrassas.

According to the list released by the ministry, 46 degrees were allocated to graduates of Darul Uloom Rabbaniyah Nooraniyah, 23 to graduates of Madrassa Allama Abdul Ghani Town in Pakistan, 18 to Darul Uloom Hashimiyah graduates and 10 to graduates of Darul Uloom Haqqania in Akora Khattak, Pakistan. Dozens of other religious seminaries are also included.

The ministry also assigned 10 bachelor’s degrees to graduates of institutions identified as jihadi seminaries, including Madrassa Jihadiya, Al-Jamiat al-Jihadiya, Jihadiya Markaziya, Al-Jihadiya and Al-Markaziya al-Jihadiya in Kabul.

The move is part of a broader effort by the Taliban authorities to formally recognise religious education credentials within Afghanistan’s higher education framework.

Some university lecturers have criticised the policy, saying equating madrassa qualifications with university degrees could undermine academic standards and damage the country’s education system.

In February 2025, the ministry awarded nearly 2,500 bachelor’s and master’s degrees to graduates of religious seminaries, including Darul Uloom Haqqania in Pakistan.

In addition, in January 2025, the ministry required lecturers in Islamic culture departments and Sharia faculties at public universities to sit competency exams. Following the tests, several lecturers were dismissed and replaced, according to local reports.

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have expanded the role of religious seminaries in the education system while restricting women’s access to secondary and higher education, policies that have drawn criticism from rights groups and some academics.