Afghanistan

In 2026, an estimated 7.1 million children in Afghanistan, including 728,000 with disabilities, will require Education in Emergencies (EiE) support. Needs are driven by recurrent shocks, including mass returns, climate-driven environmental hazards, natural disasters (mainly frequent earthquakes); poverty, protracted displacement and restrictive government policies which continue to undermine the delivery and effectiveness of education responses, particularly for women and girls.

The DfA ban on secondary education for girls, now approaching its fourth year, continues to affect 2.2 million girls, none of whom aged 13-17 are attending secondary school, in contrast with 81 per cent per cent of boys who are enrolled in school.94 At the same time, more than 2.61 million returnees from Pakistan and Iran arrived in 2025, among them 900,000 children¹ that face barriers to re-entering school, including overcrowded classrooms, lack of learning materials and language barriers. Returnee and internally displaced children have the lowest attendance rates at 34 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively.

On top of this, 7 per cent of children experienced education disruptions due to natural hazards or teacher absence according to the WoAA, with rural areas being the most affected.² Earthquakes, floods and windstorms have damaged school infrastructure and reduced instructional time, disrupting education for 53,000 learners, with many communities remaining in recovery.³ Urgent and coordinated action is required to strengthen inclusive and resilient education systems that uphold every child’s right to learn, especially in crisis-affected communities.

Response strategy

In 2026, the Education Cluster will prioritise boys and girls aged six to seventeen who are affected by emergencies, including natural disasters, displacement and the risk of dropping out. The response will focus on delivering education through TLS as the primary modality, particularly for returnees and children in acute need. TLS will serve as an entry point to education, protection and MHPSS interventions, ensuring immediate access while creating strong linkages to hub schools and community-based schools (CBS), a new modality currently being piloted. This approach marks a strategic shift towards a nexus model that integrates emergency response with longer-term education pathways.

The Cluster aims to reach eight per cent of the population in need, with BHN partners complementing this effort to expand coverage and ensure that no child is left behind. Localisation and multi-sector collaboration will be central to implementation, with continued technical and operational support for local and national women-led partners. Improved and harmonised coordination mechanisms established following the Humanitarian Reset and aid architecture review will further strengthen delivery. In-kind assistance will remain the primary modality, supported by the existing EiE costing framework to enhance efficiency and sustainability.

Targeting and prioritisation

In 2026, the Education Cluster will prioritise support for 613,000 vulnerable children returning to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan, as well as those living in disaster-prone areas, particularly in provinces classified under inter-sector severity levels 3 and 4. These include Balkh, Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Kunar, Nangarhar, Sar-e-Pul, Takhar and Uruzgan.

Building on the achievements of TLS and community-based education (CBE) interventions that are currently phasing out, the Cluster will focus on facilitating the transition to sustainable community-based schools. This approach aims to ensure continuity of education once the emergency phase concludes, strengthening long-term resilience and access to learning.

Targets for 2026 have been developed based on current partner capacities and operational presence, the Education Cluster’s reach in 2025, and projected funding availability. If the Cluster receives 50 per cent of the requested funding, it will be able to implement approximately half of planned initiatives, reaching an estimated 306,500 children. At 25 per cent funding, only 153,250 children would be reached, significantly affecting those in high-risk and underserved areas.

Promoting accountable, quality and inclusive programming

Following the Humanitarian Reset, significant resource and staffing cuts have reshaped the operational landscape. In response, the Education Cluster is strengthening its commitment to delivering results, even under constrained conditions. While the Cluster remains engaged in key cross-cutting platforms, including the GCG and the AIWG, the 2026 approach will be pragmatic. Designated champions will lead efforts on gender, inclusion and disability, promoting gender-responsive programming and inclusive proposal development. Capacity strengthening will focus on local partners, with gender focal points appointed and trained, albeit within leaner support structures.

On accountability to affected people, the Cluster will maintain engagement through AWAAZ and community Shuras, including women, to gather feedback. Refresher trainings on PSEA will be conducted regionally to reinforce partner responsibilities. Despite these challenges, the Cluster will continue to leverage its strategic relationship with the de facto Ministry of Education at all levels to reduce access constraints and advocate for women’s participation in assessments and monitoring.

Links to basic services and basic human needs (BHN) programmes

Education remains one of the most pressing demands for communities across Afghanistan. However, this need cannot be fully met by humanitarian actors alone, given the short-term nature and limited scope of education-in-emergencies (EiE) interventions. As humanitarian efforts prioritize core EiE needs, several essential education activities fall outside the humanitarian mandate. These will instead be addressed by Basic Human Needs (BHN) partners, alongside the implementation of humanitarian reset recommendations and efforts to strengthen operational and strategic coordination within the broader aid architecture review.

Development-oriented activities include:

• Construction and rehabilitation of schools, including WASH facilities;
• Ensuring learning continuity by integrating returnee and earthquake-affected children into formal education systems;
• Teacher training and capacity building;
• School feeding programs;
• Adult and youth literacy and skills development;
• Technical and vocational training.

To improve information sharing and harmonize data between humanitarian and development initiatives, the Education Cluster actively engages in the Education Strategic Thematic Working Group (Ed-STWG), where broader education development priorities are discussed. This collaboration is central to the transition roadmap, enhancing synergies with BHN actors and advancing nexus programming. Through this engagement, the Cluster communicates programming gaps requiring BHN support while preventing duplication of humanitarian interventions.

For example, throughout 2025, multiple droughts, floods, and earthquakes damaged school infrastructure. Cluster partners rapidly assessed needs and provided temporary learning spaces to ensure children’s return to education. However, where full reconstruction was required, the Cluster shared assessment findings with BHN actors, who complemented these with their own evaluations to plan appropriate development interventions. Current INGO guidelines and Ministry of Education plans increasingly prioritize development-oriented projects, which in some cases limit the ability of humanitarian actors to respond in emergency contexts.

Similarly, Ed-STWG co-chairs participate in Education Cluster meetings to share information on programs and funding streams that qualify as nexus financing, helping bridge the gap between humanitarian and development responses. While closing this gap in a protracted crisis—where women and children face growing vulnerabilities—remains challenging, education actors in Afghanistan continue to demonstrate commitment and creativity in identifying opportunities for collaboration.

Cost of the response

In 2026, the Education Cluster seeks $60 million to deliver interventions including supplying teaching materials, capacity-building for CBE teachers and Shuras, establishment of TLS, and support to CBS. The estimated cost per beneficiary is $97.82, reflecting continued support for earlier initiatives. To ensure sustainability and address funding gaps, the Education Cluster will collaborate with DfA and BHN partners to strengthen coordination and resource mobilisation.

Cluster Severity and PiN Calculation Methodology

The globally agreed definition of a child in need, as part of the JIAF, includes school-aged children and youths in crisis-affected areas who lack access to protective education and acceptable learning conditions. This lack can negatively impact their physical and psychosocial wellbeing, cognitive development, and future prospects.

Children in need are categorized based on four key dimensions of the Education People in Need (PiN) framework:

1. Access to Education: Children in severity level 3 who are not accessing school at all.
2. Learning Conditions: Children in severity level 3 who have access to school but in extremely poor learning environments.
3. Protection Level: Children in severity level 4 who attend school in unsafe environments.
4. Aggravating Circumstances: Children in severity levels 4 and above who face external factors significantly hindering their ability to attend school.

Needs Analysis, Response Monitoring Strategy and Data Gaps

In 2026, the Education Cluster—transitioning into the broader Education Alliance (final name to be confirmed)—will collaborate closely with Basic Human Needs (BHN) partners to conduct education-specific needs assessments. These assessments will shape the direction of interventions, whether emergency or humanitarian, and reinforce the link between immediate response and longer-term solutions. This approach is designed to ensure that humanitarian actions contribute meaningfully to nexus programming and support durable outcomes. Achieving this will require careful planning and sustained engagement from authorities, technical working groups, and donors.

To strengthen accountability and monitoring, the Cluster will negotiate localized access for female monitors and incorporate Mahram-related costs into planning. Third-party monitoring teams—including female monitors—will be deployed where possible, while male monitors will continue to operate in areas with access restrictions. Initiatives launched in 2024, such as phone-based monitoring with CBE teachers and WhatsApp study circles for mentoring and follow-up, will remain in place throughout 2026. Additional information management support will be sought from OCHA to streamline monitoring processes. The Cluster—or its transitioned structure—will also deepen collaboration with BHN co-leads and partners through joint field missions, spot checks, and other activities to ensure sector-wide monitoring beyond HNRP priorities.

To prevent implementation delays, the Cluster and BHN actors will hold regular meetings and joint missions with authorities. These engagements will help clarify priorities, strengthen coordination, and resolve potential misunderstandings early in the process.