When the “alternative” becomes mainstream: online and underground schooling for Afghan girls after the education ban

To understand the current ban on girls' secondary education in Afghanistan, it is necessary to consider the country's shifting educational history. Since the early 20^th century, education has been shaped by cycles of reform, conflict, and regime change. Education was severely restricted under the Taliban (1996–2001) and improved after 2001 through international support, when female literacy increased by 30% by 2018 (UNESCO, 2021). Since the Taliban's return in 2021, progress has reversed, with girls barred from secondary and higher education and literacy rates falling sharply behind those of boys (Human Rights Watch, 2022). Ongoing security risks and censorship, including self-censorship, further limit comprehensive documentation of these conditions. This qualitative study with 27 participants addresses this gap by examining the experiences of students, teachers, and administrators involved in alternative education for Afghan girls. It explores the challenges they face, the strategies they employ to sustain access to education, and the ways in which these educational initiatives can be strengthened.

After the ban, female students opted for two alternative solutions: online and underground schools. Online schools refer to schools that provide secondary and high school curricula to female students in Afghanistan through digital platforms, operating independently of formal government recognition and continuing instruction despite the ban. Underground schools refer to education in informal settings that provide instruction to secondary school female students without formal government approval, often discreetly in private homes, repurposed properties, or religious spaces such as madrassas.

Owing to the novelty and difficulty of researching these institutions, there is a dearth of related research. Arooje and Burridge (2021) traced the historical development of girls' education and the obstacles it faced, while Amiri (2023) highlighted how Taliban restrictions have further intensified these inequalities. Additionally, the potential of AI-supported online education was examined by Haqbeen, Sahab, and Ito (2023). However, no studies have explored alternative education, such as the structures of online and underground schools, the challenges they face, and how they have been operating, regardless of the restrictions since the 2021 ban.

This study explores the operational frameworks of underground and online schools in Afghanistan, offering unique insights into how education systems adapt through technology and alternative methods in conflict-affected contexts. The present study proposes a unique perspective on recent “alternative” education for secondary and high school girls in Afghanistan. This study explores female students' and educators' experiences with alternative education via online platforms and underground schools after exclusion from formal schooling. Using qualitative semi-structured interviews, it explores the perceived effectiveness, teaching method, and engagement of these alternative models in Afghanistan.

More than 2.6 million female secondary school students have been banned from education in Afghanistan since 2021 (UNICEF, 2026). Repeated restrictions have pushed Afghan educators and communities to create alternative ways to continue education. Online and underground schools have emerged, mostly led by Afghan scholars in exile and local teachers, some of which predate the ban (Housman, 2024). Underground schools date back to the 1990s, serving 45,000 students despite the Taliban's restrictions (The Guardian, 2001). Online learning, accelerated by COVID-19, has highlighted infrastructure and engagement challenges (Hashemi, 2021; Himat, Takal, & Hakimi, 2021; Noori & Noori, 2021) but remains a vital, if fragile, pathway for girls (Cabezudo & Haavelsrud, 2022). Examining these alternatives is key to understanding how Afghan girls navigate education under the ban.

Recent reports document the scale of exclusion under Taliban policies, with more than 1.5 million teenage girls out of school (UNESCO, 2024). Although these sources highlight the severity of the ban, they give limited attention to community-led educational responses (Kayen, Madhakomala, & Rahmawati, 2025; Hamidi, 2024). Historical and political analyses show how repeated cycles of repression have shaped Afghan women's access to education (Yaqubi & Mehrnoosh, 2023; Sultana, 2009; Sahil, 2023). Complementary studies describe barriers such as mobility restriction, safety concerns, psychological pressure, and the broader impact of gendered policies (Inayatullah, 2022; The International Crisis Group, 2023; Orfan & Shams, 2025). However, most of these works focus on constraints rather than on the recent rise of alternative education developed in response to the 2021 ban.

Alternative education has been used globally during crises. Access to education worldwide is limited by poverty, conflict, discrimination, and other factors, with many children attaining only basic literacy (Fredriksen, 2023; Rowe, 2016; Raza, 2022; Myers, Jordan, & Zubairi, 2023; Souley & Abubaka, 2025). Alternative education has been explored in refugee and conflict contexts (Novelli & Smith, 2011; Kirk, 2009). Other forms of alternative education, such as shadow education and informal schooling, were defined as “a set of educational activities that occur outside formal schooling and are designed to ‘enhance students’ formal schooling career” (Stevenson & Baker, 1992, p. 134). While existing research conceptualises shadow education and informal schooling as supplementary to formal schooling (Hajar & Karakus, 2022; Karakus, Tlessov, Hajar, & Courtney, 2024), this study demonstrates how online and underground schools function as a primary education system in a context where formal schooling is banned.

Alternative education in Afghanistan has been examined during earlier periods of instability. Community-based and village schools expanded access for girls in rural areas, although sustainability and teacher qualifications remained challenges (Burde et al., 2013; Kirk & Winthrop, 2008). Following the Taliban's return to power, the Afghanistan Education Sector Transitional Framework (AESTF) was introduced in 2022 as a UN-backed policy response aimed at preventing systemic collapse by sustaining basic education, supporting teachers, and safeguarding girls' access to learning. While the framework emphasises curriculum alignment, foundational skills, and STEM education, its implementation faces significant constraints, including a funding gap, poverty, and restrictions on girls' secondary education (UNICEF, 2022). Newer frameworks attempt to capture the diverse pathways Afghan learners take today. Qargha (2025) proposed a more inclusive indicator of out-of-education children (OOEC) that includes madrasas, online platforms, and underground schools, although his research did not provide practical guidance for measuring these pathways. Recent work examining post-2021 educational activities shows that communities continue to create local programs for female learners, including religious classes, language courses, and specialised training (Sarwari & Adnan, 2024). A holistic framework for educating girls in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan was outlined by Balkhi (2025). He proposed a multifaceted model that includes self-learning, online instruction, distance education, and small group learning. These approaches are already used by many existing underground and online schools. What adds value to his proposal is the call for a consortium of education for Afghanistan (p. 13), which would coordinate the work of different stakeholders, reduce duplication, and support more efficient use of limited resources. While these studies show resilience and innovation, they do not analyse the internal structure, functioning, or lived experiences within online and underground schools.

Technology-based education has also grown worldwide, increasing the need for reliable frameworks to ensure the quality of emerging digital learning platforms. Within this context, quality assurance agencies play a critical role in evaluating the effectiveness of e-learning initiatives. QAHE is a nongovernmental, independent quality assurance agency in education and training recognised in Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Austria, Indonesia, Syria, and Macedonia. QAHE has also been used in other studies, such as Al-Alwani (2014), to assess the potential of an e-learning digital course. QAHE is primarily designed as a framework for evaluating formal educational institutions and therefore cannot serve as the sole framework for assessing the alternative educational initiatives examined in this study, many of which operate outside formal educational structures. Instead, QAHE is used as a reference framework in combination with the AESTF to identify strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement within these alternative education models.

In addition to quality assurance efforts, studies highlight the promise of mobile learning, digital literacy programs, and AI-supported instructions in expanding access for girls (Hashemi, 2021; Himat et al., 2021; Haqbeen et al., 2023; Dawodi, Baktash, & Dawodi, 2023; Behmanush, Akhtari, Nooripour, Weber, & Cannanure, 2025). However, most rely on secondary data or focus on specific subjects, limiting their applicability to broader Afghan educational contexts. Together, these works highlight innovation but leave notable gaps in our understanding of how current online and underground schools operate and how students and teachers experience these models.

Across the literature, three points stand out: girls' education in Afghanistan has been shaped by cycles of restriction and adaptation; alternative and technology-based models can help sustain education during crises; and Afghan communities have long used grassroots schooling to resist exclusion. How today's online and underground schools actually function under the 2021 ban, how they navigate challenges, and how their participants perceive these models remain unclear. Limited empirical research has examined these questions. This study addresses these gaps by documenting operational frameworks, challenges, and lived experiences within current alternative schooling models for Afghan girls.

This study employed a qualitative inductive analysis to explore the alternative educational institutions (online and underground schools) that have emerged since the secondary school ban. This approach facilitates an in-depth understanding of the challenges and strategies employed to overcome these obstacles. Such an analytical approach is particularly suited to gaining insights into complex phenomena with a small sample size (Patton, 2014; Thomas, 2006).

The researcher's positionality as an Afghan woman facilitated access and trust, particularly with female participants, for whom speaking with men outside the family is often culturally restricted in Afghanistan. Shared language and lived experience supported open communication. Owing to security and mobility constraints, the data were collected remotely through online video and audio calls from Japan. While this approach entailed limited in-person observation, it enabled safe and ethical access to a highly restricted research context.

Data were collected through 27 semi-structured interviews (Table 1) (including administrators, teachers, and students of both online (9 administrators, 6 teachers, 4 students) and underground schools (4 administrators, 2 teachers, and 2 students) (Table 2) in Afghanistan, primarily its capital, Kabul. Snowball sampling was used to recruit participants because of security issues and the decentralised, informal nature of the schools. Since these schools are not publicly announced and rely on word of mouth, this method offered a safe and practical way to reach participants. The first participant was found through professional and educational networks such as LinkedIn.

The author acknowledges the limitations of snowball sampling, such as sampling bias, sample homogeneity, and lack of generalizability (Noy, 2008; Biernacki & Waldorf, 1981). However, this method was employed because the location and existence of underground schools were unknown for security reasons, and no alternative approach was feasible.

The researcher conducted iterative interviews (Kekeya, 2016) between June 2024 and August 2025. Initial interviews were carried out with a subset of participants, and the interview protocol was subsequently refined on the basis of emerging themes. The interviews were conducted in English and Dari, one of Afghanistan's national languages alongside Pashto, and were translated into English manually by the researcher. Each interview lasted approximately 30 to 60 minutes, with follow-up sessions for clarification. The analysis started by cleaning the data (the interview transcripts). This was followed by a close reading of the texts to obtain an understanding of the themes and events covered. The next step of the coding process in inductive analysis (Thomas, 2006) was the creation of general categories. Coding here involved attaching a label to every segment of the data and then comparing the codes. The general codes were then reduced to ten categories or themes and finally to five themes relevant to the research objectives (Table 3). Online and underground schools constitute the most relevant research sites for this study, as they have mostly emerged directly in response to the ban on girls' secondary education. Focusing on these models enables an examination of how alternative schooling has developed, how challenges are navigated, and how effectiveness is perceived by the participants within the constraints outlined by QAHE and AESTF.

Ethical approval was obtained from Hiroshima University, and informed consent was secured from all participants. Anonymity was protected through pseudonyms and encrypted data storage, with all records to be destroyed after the project. Risks included potential breaches of confidentiality that could endanger participants, as well as emotional strain on the researcher when engaging with traumatic and isolated experiences.

This research is underpinned by a substantial dataset derived from individuals directly affected by the education ban, as well as from stakeholders and teachers actively seeking solutions to the prohibition of formal education for girls in Afghanistan after 2021. What began as alternative education and temporary responses has developed into the main education system for secondary school female students in Afghanistan. These schools now serve thousands of students, shape their own curricula, and operate with coordinated structures that mirror many features of the national system.

The researcher analysed the data manually and through thematic analysis, resulting in seven major themes, namely, the scale and emergence of online and underground schools, followed by five themes addressing the challenges these schools face and the adaptive strategies they employ, which are presented in the following section (4.1.3 Problems and resolutions of these schools).

The rapid growth of online schools in Afghanistan reflects a direct response to the Taliban's August 2021 ban on girls' education. While these institutions initially intended to fill a temporary gap, the number of students they now serve shows a different reality. Several online schools in this study enrol hundreds to thousands of girls, including refugees in Iran and Pakistan. Their growth and consistency in the past four years have led them to become the main route through which girls continue secondary studies. Two operational models dominate online schools: synchronous instruction via Zoom or WhatsApp and asynchronous delivery through YouTube. This differentiation appears to reflect both technological accessibility and pedagogical priorities: asynchronous models, which mirror national curricula and cover grades 1–12 in full, cater to students with limited real-time connectivity, while synchronous models emphasise interaction and immediate teacher feedback. The diversity of subjects offered, including critical thinking, IELTS preparation, IT skills, journalism, menstrual hygiene education, and mental health (see Table 4), and the inclusion of topics such as mental health and women's rights, which are often absent in traditional curricula, reflect a shift from rote learning towards holistic development. This innovation challenges both the QAHE's traditional quality indicators and the AESTF's standardised frameworks by suggesting that relevance, rather than uniformity, is now the marker of educational quality.

The re-emergence of underground schools, known as “secret schools”, builds upon a long history of resistance to educational repression. Originally, during the Taliban's first regime in 1996 (Begum, 2024), these schools persisted as an enduring form of social defiance. The current study contributes original insights by documenting the lived experiences of teachers and students who risk their safety to continue their education. This extends prior research by shifting the analytical focus from the existence of underground schools to the social mechanisms and community ethics that enable their survival.

The underground school networks (USS1 and USS3) started operating as direct countermeasures to the Taliban's ban on girls' education, illustrating both community resilience and localised innovation. USS1 alone, with more than 4,000 students, 42 locations, and 110 teachers across 20 provinces, demonstrates that underground schools are not marginal efforts but rather substantial educational systems operating as the main educational pathway for secondary school-level female students. Their scale suggests a high level of social trust and coordination, since families risk severe consequences by enrolling their daughters, and teachers risk punishment by providing instruction.

USS4 was founded in 2001 to promote peace and cooperation between Afghanistan and the U.S. and has since expanded its role by building schools, computer centres, and training teachers. After the education ban, it adapted by partnering with grassroots organisations to sustain learning opportunities for girls, showing how underground schools combine international ties with local networks to resist restrictions and widen access. The underground schools are listed in Table 3. The greatest obstacles they face are the security threats from the Taliban and building trust among students and teachers who work together. Local community support is a key factor contributing to the successful operation of underground schools.

Parween, administrator of UA2, related, “We have built a strong trust with the people in our community who alert us of the proximity of the Taliban forces as soon as they can, and we just collect the other books and chapters and just leave the Holy Quran, pretending that's the only subject we teach”.

This statement shows that community trust helps educators and students keep their identity safe from the Taliban in local areas. Schools face other problems, such as inadequate teaching spaces. In some underground schools, teachers share their personal spaces, such as their bedrooms, as classrooms, with 20 or 30 students. Some schools do not even have books, and the minimal budget is usually used to rent better spaces. In response to the question of what underground schools need, Mr. Waris, administrator of USS1, answered as follows:

This statement indicates that, despite a lack of proper teaching resources, teachers at underground schools use grassroots solutions to provide alternative education to students.

Despite their growth, online and underground schools face a range of constraints that influence both access and sustainability. The remaining five themes identified in this study include (1) limited access to technological infrastructure, (2) economic hardship, (3) security and anonymity under political oppression, (4) lack of certification and recognition, and (5) reliance on informal community networks (Table 5). Each theme reveals both the structural barriers to education in crisis contexts and the locally driven solutions that illustrate community resilience. By situating these findings within the AESTF and QAHE frameworks, the discussion moves beyond description to evaluate how these local responses align with or challenge the broader goals of quality education, access, and sustainability in a crisis context.

These themes highlight how the ban on formal education has forced adaptive responses. Unstable internet access, high data cost, and risk of exposure shape both learning and teaching practices. Despite these constraints, online and underground schools sustain education through low-tech solutions, volunteer teachers, and, in some cases, external support for devices, connectivity, or solar power.

Certification is essential for access to higher education and employment, yet it remains a major challenge for Afghanistan's online and underground schools. As Kirk (2009) emphasised, recognising the achievements of displaced and refugee learners is critical, but when alternative schools lack state accreditation, students face uncertainty about grade progression and university entry. Although five of the nine online schools in this study issued certificates, the absence of a broader recognition framework leaves a gap between learning achievements and their formal acceptance into a university. From the perspective of the QAHE, the lack of formal accreditation undermines quality assurance, as educational outcomes cannot be standardised, monitored, or validated. However, in Afghanistan's current political climate, the QAHE model struggles to account for learning that occurs outside state-sanctioned spaces. Despite these systematic barriers, some online schools have found innovative ways to establish credibility through transnational partnerships. For instance, one institution registered as a charity organisation in the United Kingdom is pursuing cooperation with certification offices to allow students to take examinations based on the British curriculum: Ms Shazia, administrator of OSS2, reported the following:

Others have secured more formal recognition. OSS3 and OSS9 are the only online schools that provide California-certified and official Canadian high school credentials, respectively. Mr Sam, administrator of OSS3, stated the following:

This partial certification suggests a shift in the meaning of educational legitimacy, where recognition may increasingly depend on global rather than state actors. The lack of certification in other schools reflects the constraints of operating outside state authority, yet some international universities have begun to adapt by creating scholarship pathways for students from these schools. Such responses highlight both the limitations of alternative education in securing official validation and the ways global actors are attempting to bridge this gap. This tension shows that alternative education has become mainstream without gaining the formal recognition usually attached to mainstream systems. Having examined alternative educational models under restrictive conditions, the next section explores their quality through teaching methods, feedback, and the experience of teachers and students.

Across both online and underground schools, the participants highlighted three major strengths: creating safe learning spaces, offering diverse and relevant subjects, and providing students with hope and motivation. Most of the online schools in Afghanistan use a synchronous learning mode, which allows interaction between the learners and a sense of community (Suwastini, Rinawati, Jayantini, & Dantes, 2021). Moreover, Afghan online schools adapt to their needs, providing teacher training and enhancing digital literacy. Learning includes not only textbooks but also YouTube and other online resources, with collaborative activities and flexible, self-paced study. From a QAHE standpoint, this aligns with the principle of learner-centred pedagogy, but this flexibility also reveals a quality gap: without systematic monitoring, learning outcomes depend heavily on teacher initiatives and student motivation. Another positive aspect of learning in underground schools is authentic-world learning (QAHE, 2023). As Waris, the administrator of underground schools (USS1), mentioned in his interview:

This statement reinforces the idea that learning in crisis contexts often becomes a form of survival literacy, where knowledge acquisition is inseparable from daily life. An important area of instruction that has been notably absent from traditional schooling in Afghanistan is the education of girls on topics such as menstrual hygiene, mental health, women's health, women's empowerment, and suicide prevention. This gap has become increasingly relevant in light of the current circumstances affecting girls. Overall, students and teachers valued the opportunity but also noted limitations such as compressed curricula, limited access, and uneven quality. Ms Zarlasht, administrator of USS3, mentioned the following:

While this rationale is understandable, it necessitates the compression of the full academic year's curriculum into a six-month period, which may place considerable pressure on students. This strategy, while practical, raises concerns about the instructional depth and long-term retention issues that the AESTF's principle of “learning continuity” directly warns against (UNICEF, 2022). Moreover, limited access to devices and reliable internet continues to exclude low-income learners, reinforcing structural inequalities. Many cannot afford devices or reliable internet, while in underground schools, security concerns restrict awareness and access. However, currently, this is the only means of obtaining not only education but also emotional support and help for many Afghan girls. As a Razia student at (OSS10) said, “My biggest goal is not to be uneducated…. they denied us education, and now we are even hungrier for it! No one is thinking about a degree or the salary, despite the bad economic situation... My mother was also denied from school, and now she is uneducated. No one will offer her a job, and she cannot help my other two siblings or me. Why? Because she is uneducated! I don't even want my enemy to be uneducated!” The findings suggest that Afghan teachers and students perceive alternative education not merely as instruction but as a means of resilience building and of the preservation of identity and aspirations. These functions, traditionally fulfilled through formal education, are now being carried out through alternative education.

Teachers' reflections also highlight that their work extends beyond pedagogy; it is an act of care, courage, and advocacy (Kirk & Winthrop, 2008). This dual function of education (academic and emotional) shows that the success of these schools cannot be measured solely by conventional indicators of quality and performance. Despite these limitations, these schools sustain learning for thousands of girls and have become a central part of Afghanistan's educational future. The second part of the question explores strategies to strengthen these models, informed by QAHE (2023) and AESTF (UNICEF, 2022).

This study suggests strategies for underground and online schools in Afghanistan, using the AESTF and QAHE as foundational references. The QAHE framework is chosen for this study because of its emphasis on the quality control of online educational institutions. Additionally, the AESTF aligns with the specific context of the Afghan education system. However, it is important to note that neither of the frameworks, in isolation, adequately addresses the unique characteristics of the newly emerged online and underground schools. Therefore, this study proposes a new set of strategies (Figure 1). On the basis of an examination of teaching practices, curricula, assessments, feedback, learning modes, and teacher training, this study suggests strategies to improve education for Afghan girls. Several exemplary schools already address these gaps and can serve as models. Below is a summary of effective approaches that outstanding schools may use to provide better educational opportunities.

Curriculum development strongly shapes students' experiences and should align with learner, societal, and workforce needs (QAHE, 2023). Online and underground schools often prioritise English, STEM subjects, and IT to support future jobs and scholarship opportunities while also introducing new subjects such as poetry, photography, and critical thinking. However, curricula vary across schools, highlighting the need for expert input to ensure alignment with national standards and continuity for mobile students.

The interviews revealed a strong demand for digital literacy in both types of schools; although few offer such training, it is essential and should be part of the curriculum. Teachers with limited skills should receive regular support from experienced educators (QAHE, 2023). Experienced teachers can enter the Zoom link in the first few classes as a backup for new teachers with limited experience, so that the students are not demotivated or discouraged by the technical errors of novice teachers.

While traditional teacher-centred education mandates that all students learn the same content simultaneously, learner-centred education considers the individual differences and diverse needs of students, placing equal emphasis on both the learner and the learning process (McCombs & Whisler, 1997). Learner-centred education (Reigeluth, Beatty, & Myers, 2017) emphasises personalised learning. In Afghan online and underground schools, students seek subjects such as English, STEM, and IT. Tailoring instruction to these interests can boost engagement and improve outcomes.

School closures have serious psychological effects on Afghan girls. Teaching metacognitive strategies supports self-regulation, goal setting, and stress management (QAHE, 2023). Journaling, self-assessment, and gratitude practices help students process emotions, reduce anxiety, and maintain a focus on learning.

Scaffolding is an instructional approach in which teachers provide temporary support to help students accomplish tasks they cannot complete independently, gradually reducing this support as learners align confidence and skills (Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976). Scaffolding can occur from three sources: teachers, collaboration with peers, and technology; however, on the basis of the interviews, most of the schools do not include peer collaboration between students. Recent studies have shown that if all three sources are employed, students achieve better online learning (Chou, Hou, & Chang, 2024; Hsiao, 2017; Mahan, 2022). In addition, online schools should apply effective orientation to guide students in navigating course materials, submitting assignments, and engaging in discussions. Clear expectations and support can reduce confusion, frustration, and anxiety (Stavredes, 2011).

Schools should incorporate self and peer assessments using diverse methods, such as presentations and projects. Both students and educators need assessment literacy; students must understand criteria and rubrics, while educators should grasp assessment principles. The study data indicated that three out of eight teachers were not aware of the different types of assessments. Regular self- and peer assessments help identify strengths and areas for improvement and should be included in the curriculum.

The online and underground schools should share their resources, lesson plans, challenges, and strategies to solve them. This collaboration would help them work together, learn from mistakes and successes, avoid repeating the same materials, and create programs that complement one another (Balkhi, 2025).

Overall, the study highlights two key findings. First, online and underground schools have rapidly expanded as the only mainstream form of education, serving a large number of students and offering broader curricula. Second, their recognition and sustainability remain fragile because of poor internet access, limited funding, security risks, and the absence of formal certification, which constrain access to higher education and employment.

Although the online and underground schools discussed in this study are shaped by Afghanistan's specific context, the strategies they use to address challenges such as weak internet access, security risks, and economic constraints have wider relevance. These grassroots, adaptive solutions offer practical insights for sustaining education in other conflict-affected settings where formal schooling is disrupted or inaccessible.

Since the 2021 ban on girls' education, underground and online schools have transformed from small, informal initiatives into the main system of education for girls in Afghanistan. In this study, the term “mainstream” refers to the de facto central role of alternative education in students' and families' daily educational lives rather than its formal recognition by the state. Although these educational models operate without government accreditation and often lack certification authority, they have become widely adopted, socially normalised, and relied upon as primary modes of learning. Their mainstream status is therefore determined by scale, function, and social reliance, not by legal legitimacy or policy endorsement. By using the QAHE and the AESTF to investigate online and underground learning models in Afghanistan, this study makes unique contributions. Instead of focusing only on deprivation, it emphasises how females have used their agency and skills to circumvent the prohibition of education and find other ways to study. What was once viewed as “alternative” has now become the only mode of learning. These schools have developed their own structures, curricula, and networks, operating in place of the government education system.

One of the limitations of this study is the lack of data triangulation. Direct observation of underground schools was unfortunately not possible due to significant security concerns. School administrators were unable to share exact locations of their institutions for safety reasons, and no central database or official body exists to verify the number and characteristics of underground schools currently operating. As a result, regarding the scale of these alternative educational platforms, the study relied on information obtained through institutional websites and administrator interviews.

Another limitation of these schools is unequal access. Because of security concerns, they are not advertised publicly, and information is shared only within trusted networks. As a result, many girls remain unaware of these opportunities. In addition, the findings show that educational quality is often compromised to reduce safety risks. In Afghanistan, these compromises reflect the only possible means of accessing education, with students knowingly accepting risks as the cost of participation. Safety considerations, therefore, directly shape instructional practices and learning experiences. Similar trade-offs may apply in other restricted or authoritarian settings where education is possible only through informal or low-visibility models. On the other hand, many families cannot afford devices such as smartphones or laptops, or the reliable internet needed to participate in online schooling. This means that access to the new mainstream form of education is shaped by economic status, which creates unfair barriers for the most disadvantaged girls.

The shift to online and underground education signifies a redefinition of what “mainstream education” means in Afghanistan after the ban. The new mainstream is decentralised, digital, and community-driven, sustained by volunteer teachers, informal partnerships, and transnational networks. However, despite their reach and resilience, these schools face serious challenges, such as funding, limited resources, weak digital infrastructure, and a lack of certification and formal recognition. These constraints underline the reality that the mainstreaming of alternative education has occurred through necessity rather than choice.

To ensure long-term sustainability and quality, international and national actors should recognise these schools as legitimate educational systems rather than temporary substitutes. Support for teacher training, digital infrastructure, and pathways to certification is essential to strengthen this new mainstream. The country's educational future now depends on how well this emergent mainstream is supported, integrated, and sustained.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Tatsuya Kusakabe for his encouragement and unwavering support throughout this study.