Education policy

According to the report, the gap in learning outcomes between wealthier and poorer students is widening – even as the nation slips in its global standings.

The warning came during a workshop in Kabul on child and adolescent mental health. Alice James, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, urged Afghan authorities, humanitarian agencies, and civil society to adopt a unified, national strategy to address the burgeoning mental health crisis.

The monks contend that Sri Lanka’s existing penal code already contains sufficient safeguards to deal with abuse, and that new legislation is unnecessary and overly idealistic.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement this week that the continued exclusion of girls from classrooms was “a tragic violation of their fundamental rights.” She warned that the ban is denying an entire generation the opportunity to learn and jeopardizing Afghanistan’s future.

In the quiet classrooms of Pakistani universities, thousands of Afghan students – many in the last stretch of their advanced degrees – are living with an unrelenting countdown. On 31 August 2025, Pakistan’s government has ordered that all Afghan nationals must leave the country or face arrest and deportation.

The initiative, spearheaded by Prime Minister and Minister of Education Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, aims to overhaul the country’s education system to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global landscape.

An overwhelming number of Sri Lankan households subsist on less than Rs. 1000 a day, or roughly Rs. 30,000 a month. These families are compelled to make impossible choices – often between food and education – leading many to defer or forgo early education for their children.

UNAMA’s quarterly report highlighted sections of the ministry’s law, claiming it imposes new restrictions on women. It stated that the law formalises previous decrees and broadens existing limitations while introducing additional ones.