Acting Minister of Education Habibullah Agha said on Sunday that governing is the right of religious scholars and in the past this right was usurped by others.

Speaking at a workshop in Kabul, Agha said that religious scholars have now secured their right, and if they commit negligence, they will lose the blessing.

“Governing is the right of religious scholars. In the past, the rights of scholars were usurped by others, but now scholars have won their right. Scholars are facing a big test. God forbid, if we commit negligence in fulfilling this responsibility, Allah will take this blessing from us,” Agha said.

Meanwhile, Abdul Salam Hanafi, the administrative deputy of the Prime Minister, emphasized that the students in the country should be educated with the spirit of Islam and national unity, adding that the Islamic Emirate is not against modern education.

“Education of Afghan children is entrusted to us. This is a great responsibility for us. Children of Afghanistan should be educated with Islamic spirit and with the spirit of national unity. They should be educated with Islamic thought. We are not against modern studies. Modern studies are one of the necessities of the day, which all students should learn,” Hanafi said.

He added: “Allah willing, we will try to make the educational curriculum of Afghanistan in such a way that the students with an Islamic spirit will have the knowledge of all necessities of the day and will have knowledge of science and technology.”

The acting minister of education also said that in the 20 years under the previous government, religious and modern studies did not receive enough attention.

“In our educational centers, the quality of education is so low. Why is it low? Because it has not received much attention. In the 20 years of the previous regime, attention was not paid not only in the field of religious studies, but also in the field of modern studies,” Agha said.

Acting Minister of Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadim meanwhile advised civil servants to be honest in their duties and obey their leaders.

“Authorities are obliged to make efforts regarding eligibility. Secondly, the appointed person should be monitored to see if he is doing the job properly or poorly,” Nadim said.