On May 11, 2025, it was reported that the Taliban’s Ministry of Education had dismissed more than 50 faculty and staff members from Bamiyan University on apparently ideologically motivated grounds.

The Ministry of Education offered no explanation for their dismissals. According to media reports, a large number of those dismissed were members of the minority Hazara ethnic group, which has historically been persecuted by the Taliban. They included a number of highly respected scholars. The dismissals came amid reports of hundreds of faculty members being dismissed at universities across Afghanistan, including at Sheikh Zayed University (see report).

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the mass dismissals of faculty members as a result of government interference. This is an instance of direct encroachment by the government on the university’s authority to set policies concerning personnel, admissions, curricula, and the establishment of particular programs. External actors, including government officials and political actors, have a right to free expression, but should not be permitted to impose undue pressure on universities’ academic decisions, including those relating to the hiring and firing of academic personnel or curricula. Universities should take measures to ensure, wherever possible, that such decisions remain free from outside pressure and are driven solely by academic considerations. Such actions undermine university autonomy and inhibit institutions’ ability to function freely.

Sources:
https://kabulnow.com/2025/05/taliban-dismisses-dozens-of-staff-members-including-lecturers-from-bamyan-university/
https://amu.tv/173369/
https://rudabe.org/archives/26600
https://8am.media/eng/talibans-war-on-universities-hundreds-of-professors-especially-women-dismissed/