Taliban Dismisses Dawat University Leaders, Appoints New Board

DID Press: Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education dismissed the president and administrative officials of Dawat Private University in Kabul and appointed its own team as the university’s new leadership board, reported Hasht-e Subh Daily.

Neda Mohammad Nadim, the Taliban’s acting minister of higher education, visited Dawat University on Saturday and informed the former officials that they were no longer allowed to run the institution. The move came after the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice ordered the university to suspend its activities and vacate its building.

Dawat University was established in 1984 by Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf and received its operating license in 2009. The university has around 1,500 students enrolled in 14 academic programs. The Taliban has not so far provided an official explanation for the dismissal of the university’s officials or the suspension of its activities.

Reacting to the move, Habib-ur-Rahman Sayyaf described the takeover of the university without the consent of its administration and founders and contrary to laws and Islamic rulings. He said the Taliban had appointed a new leadership board without providing a valid justification.

He stressed that universities should not become victims of political disputes, saying interference in academic institutions harms education and the future of Afghanistan’s younger generation.

The administration of Dawat University also announced that it does not recognize the board appointed by the Taliban and will suspend the university’s academic, educational and administrative activities until its legal status is clarified.

The move comes after the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education previously dismissed the president and deputies of Khatam al-Nabieen Private University and subsequently revoked the institution’s operating license.

The developments come amid increasing Taliban intervention in the management and activities of private higher education institutions in Afghanistan.