Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on tribal and religious leaders to encourage the education of girls.
Karzai, speaking at a ceremony in Kabul on March 24 marking the start of the country's school year, also urged insurgent groups not to attack teachers and school children, saying that the country could only develop through the spread of education.
Ghulam Farooq Warak, the education minister, said there are 8.4 million schoolgoing children in Afghanistan and 39 percent of them are girls.
He added that 9.5 million children were still being deprived of education in the country.
Karzai, speaking at a ceremony in Kabul on March 24 marking the start of the country's school year, also urged insurgent groups not to attack teachers and school children, saying that the country could only develop through the spread of education.
Ghulam Farooq Warak, the education minister, said there are 8.4 million schoolgoing children in Afghanistan and 39 percent of them are girls.
He added that 9.5 million children were still being deprived of education in the country.