The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) move Wednesday to extend the ban for teenage girls to attend school has sparked widespread reaction both locally and internationally.

Afghan girls were particularly disappointed by the last minute announcement Wednesday, that until further notice they would not be allowed to return to school.

Teachers and students from three high schools around Kabul said girls had returned in excitement to campuses on Wednesday morning, but were ordered to go home, Reuters reported. They said many students left in tears.

“We all got disappointed and we all became totally hopeless when the principal told us, she was also crying,” said a student, not being named for security reasons.

The international community has made the education of girls a key demand for any future recognition of the IEA administration, which took over the country in August as foreign forces withdrew. The United Nations and the United States condemned the reported closures on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Education had announced last week that schools for all students, including girls, would open around the country on Wednesday after months of restrictions on education for high school-aged girls.

On Tuesday evening a Ministry of Education spokesman released a video congratulating all students on their returning to class.

However, on Wednesday a Ministry of Education notice said schools for girls would be closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture, according to Bakhtar News, a government news agency.

“We inform all girls high schools and those schools that are having female students above class six that they are off until the next order,” said the notice.

The country’s ministry of education spokesman did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment. A Taliban administration source confirmed to Reuters that schools for girls in Kabul would be closed for now, without elaborating.

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), was one of the first to react to the news.

According to a statement issued by UNAMA, the organization stated: “The UN in Afghanistan deplores today’s reported announcement by the Taliban (IEA) that they are further extending their indefinite ban on female students above the 6th grade being permitted to return school.”

The US Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan, Ian McCary, currently based in Qatar, said in a tweet that he was deeply troubled by the reports.

“This is very disappointing & contradicts many Taliban (IEA) assurances & statements,” he said.

Schoolgirls around the country meanwhile have called on the IEA to reopen schools for them.

Education officials in provinces have also said that they are waiting for orders from the ministry of education on when to reopen girls schools.

Reacting to the move, former president Hamid Karzai called for all secondary and high schools for girls to be reopened.

Karzai said it was deplorable that girls schools remain closed, and called on the Islamic Emirate to not help promote the agenda of those who want a “needy” and “subordinate” Afghanistan. All girls’ schools should be opened, he tweeted.

US special envoy Rina Amiri also criticized IEA for their decision.

“The reported failure to open schools for girls above Grade 6 across the country not only weakens confidence in the Taliban’s commitments but further dashes the hopes of families for a better future for their daughters,” Amiri said.

Heather Barr, director of the Women’s Observatory for Human Rights, also called the decision “cruel.”

“It is difficult to think of an explanation [in this context] other than intentional oppression,” she tweeted.

Amnesty International has also expressed “deep concern” over the complete reversal of the authorities ‘decision to reopen girls’ schools in Afghanistan. The international community has called for immediate action to educate Afghan girls.

German ambassador-designate to Afghanistan Markus Potzel tweeted that girls’ schools beyond Grade 6 remaining closed is not only a blow for Afghan girls who want to study and pursue careers, but it also contradicts the previous announcements made by the Islamic Emirate.