An estimated 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan are now deprived of secondary education, UNESCO said on Tuesday, an increase from its previous estimate of 2.2 million as the Taliban`s ban on education for girls beyond the sixth grade remains in place.

Hoda Jaberian, UNESCO`s programme coordinator for education in emergencies, gave the figure during a news conference and said it applied specifically to girls deprived of secondary education. UNESCO does not have a comparable estimate for the number of women who would otherwise be enrolled in universities.

Responding to a question from Amu TV, Jaberian said estimating the number excluded from higher education would require assumptions about how many girls would have completed high school, sought admission to university and passed Afghanistan`s university entrance examination.

"The 2.4 (million) is only for secondary education," she said. "When it comes to higher education, we don`t have estimates about how many would have been today if there wasn`t the ban policies in place."

The increase from UNESCO`s earlier estimate of 2.2 million girls underscores the cumulative effect of the ban as more girls reach the age at which they would ordinarily enter secondary school.

Restrictions extend beyond classrooms

Jaberian said restrictions were also affecting women who had previously studied at universities, including in fields where Taliban authorities had initially shown some flexibility, such as medical education.

She said UNESCO had received reports that women were unable to continue their studies or, in some cases, obtain diplomas, accreditation or other documentation proving what they had already studied.

"There is no flexibility," Jaberian said. "They are all banned from continuity or even receiving their accreditations, their diplomas, or any other proof of learning."

UNESCO condemned those restrictions, she said, but was not currently engaged with Taliban authorities in discussions specifically aimed at obtaining diplomas for affected students.

UNESCO does operate a Qualifications Passport program designed to help refugees and displaced people who lack documentation of their previous education. Jaberian said the program helps receiving countries and higher-education institutions assess students` previous learning so they can continue their education or demonstrate qualifications for employment.

Returning children face new barriers

The education crisis is being compounded by the large number of Afghans returning from neighboring countries.

Jaberian said children younger than 15 account for 56 percent of current returnees, creating substantial additional demand for education.

UNESCO does not have figures showing how many of those children are adolescent girls. But Jaberian said girls who had attended secondary school while living abroad could find themselves unable to continue their education after returning to Afghanistan.Afghanistan Travel Guides

The combination of displacement and Taliban restrictions, she said, threatens educational continuity and can deepen existing inequalities among vulnerable returnee families.

Teacher restrictions affect boys, too

Jaberian said Taliban policies had also removed a substantial number of qualified teachers and educators from the education system, with consequences extending beyond girls.

In some cases, she said, boys were being taught by unqualified male teachers or were left without teachers because restrictions had been imposed without sufficient time to train replacements.

Despite the restrictions, UNESCO has remained in Afghanistan and is supporting alternative forms of education, Jaberian said.

She emphasized, however, that literacy programs, distance learning and other alternatives should not be regarded as substitutes for formal schooling.

"There is no substitute" for a classroom and a qualified teacher, she said.

UNESCO says its community-based literacy and skills programs have reached nearly 70,000 people ages 15 to 45, including through literacy classes, skills development, educational media and distance learning.

Jaberian said UNESCO would continue seeking ways to provide education while pressing for the restrictions to be lifted.

"Afghan girls and women have the right to learn," she said, calling education a basic human right and urging the international community "not to look away from them until their human rights are restored."

UNESCO again called for the immediate and unconditional restoration of girls` and women`s access to secondary and higher education.