Contrary to statements to the contrary, the Taliban do not want to open secondary schools to girls for the time being.

The Taliban announced on Wednesday that they would not be able to attend classes until a plan in accordance with Islamic law had been drawn up.

Teachers and students at three high schools near the capital Kabul said the girls returned to school grounds excitedly on Wednesday morning but were then told to go home.

They said many students shed tears.

"We were all disappointed and completely devastated when the headmistress told us, who was also crying," said one student, whose name will not be released for security reasons.

During the first Taliban rule in Afghanistan, which lasted from 1996 to 2001, women were banned from education and most jobs.

The international community has now made girls' education one of the key demands for future recognition of the Taliban government, which took power in the country in August 2021 after the withdrawal of foreign troops.

The Department of Education announced last week that schools across the country would open to everyone, including girls, this Wednesday.

Previously, there had been months-long restrictions on the education of girls in high school.

On Tuesday evening, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education published a video in which he congratulated all students on returning to class.

However, a statement from the Ministry of Education said that schools for girls would be closed, according to the state news agency Bakhtar News.

"We are informing all girls' high schools and those schools that have students over the sixth grade that they are closed until the next instruction," the statement said.

An insider from the Taliban administration confirmed to the Reuters news agency that schools for girls in Kabul will remain closed for the time being.

"I've heard disturbing reports that girls in sixth grade and up are being refused admission to school by the authorities," tweeted Deborah Lyons, head of the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

"If that's true, what could be the reason?" The Taliban are attempting to rule the country according to their interpretation of Islamic law while gaining access to billions of dollars in aid money.

These are urgently needed to combat widespread poverty and hunger.