Afghanistan plans biometric registration at madrassas to improve security, curricula

The Afghan government plans to conduct biometric registration of students and staff of madrassas around the country, as part of a drive to prevent misuse of the schools, and a move towards a single source curriculum, The Ministry of Interior Affairs has said, as reported by Tolo News.

“There is a need for biometric registration to identify these people and find out the main purpose of their activities. It has a great significance to us in terms of security,” said Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior

This is not the first time the Afghan government has conducted a biometric registration as part of a reform program. The government previously launched a biometric system for licensing businesses in order to improve the ease and efficiency with which licenses are processed.

The government will monitor madrassas’ educational activities, while madrassa officials have been asked to help undertake the biometric registrations of the students. Around 5,000 madrassas in Afghanistan are registered with the Ministry of Haj and Religious Affairs, of which 1,180 are operating under the ministry of education and 250 which are operating in Kabul.

The government’s move in this area is related to links between unregistered madrassa attendees and reports of extremist behaviour within Pakistani madrassas. However, in some parts of Kabul, madrassa staff are reluctant to conduct the registration, according to Tolo News.

Article Topics

Afghanistan  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  identity verification  |  monitoring  |  schools