KABUL - Following nine days of protest action by teachers in Kabul, the Ministries of Education and Urban Development on Tuesday launched a housing scheme in Kabul for educators.

According to the two ministries, 300 hectares of land in Istalif district has been allocated for the scheme – which was launched at a ceremony attended by the two respective ministers, MPs and other high-ranking officials.

Officials said similar schemes would be rolled out in other districts in Kabul soon.

Dozens of teachers from around Kabul gathered in the last week at Habibi High School in protest over what they call President Ashraf Ghani's failure to fulfill his promises to teachers.

Last year in a ceremony marking teacher's day in Kabul, Ghani promised to increase the salaries of teachers and to allot each of them a piece of land within six months – a process which has not happened.

In his opening address at Tuesday's ceremony, Minister of Education Asadullah Hanifi Balkhi acknowledged teachers' issues but stressed that the ministry also had problems left over from the previous government.

"When I came as the minister about a month ago, I found mountains of problems with insufficient resources," Balkhi told the opening ceremony. "In each government, the teachers have had dire situations."

So far, about 80,000 teachers have been given plots of land throughout the country, he said, emphasizing that the remaining teachers in Kabul, Ghazni, Uruzgan and other provinces would also get their plots in the near future.

But one teacher, who has received his plot of land, says he is not happy with the scheme.

"The plot I got is at the top of a mountain. How can I build on it with only 8,000 Afghanis which I am being paid a month. Except animals, no human being can live there," Akbar claimed.

Minister of Urban Development Sayed Sadat Naderi, meanwhile, noted that efforts are underway to extend the program to other provinces as well.

"Teachers from about 80 out of 120 towns have received plots of land," Naderi said.

The protesting teachers, however, continued on Tuesday to warn government that as long as their demands are not met, they will continue their strike.

"We are grappling with a number of problems. If our problems are not addressed, we may not be able to teach the students in a good manner," a teacher from Istalif, Bacha Khan, said.

In addition, the teachers also demand a salary increase. Teachers currently earn between 7,000 and 13,000 Afghanis.

Ghani's deputy spokesman Sayed Zafar Hashimi said on Tuesday: "The president has earmarked 800 million Afghanis for teacher salary increases."

Based on statistics, Afghanistan currently has more than 200,000 teachers across the country. (Tolonews)