Afghanistan’s education ministry is planning to segregate schools by gender, officials said on Sunday.

There will be schools only for boys and there will be schools only for girls, according to officials.

In areas where it is not possible to have separate schools for girls and boys, they will go to the same school at different times, authorities said.

“The Ministry of Education has submitted the proposal to the prime minister [for approval]. The proposal has three parts and it will be implemented very easily,” said Aziz Ahmad Rayan, a spokesman for the ministry.

Most secondary schools for girls were shut after the Islamic Emirate took over in August. IEA has said that all girls will be allowed to go to school from the start of the new school year, which starts later this month.

“The Ministry of Education should make efforts for improving the quality of education and skills of the academic cadres, because the competition is happening in the area of education,” said Ajmir Shah, a student.

“Girls should be allowed to go to schools. It is not the time to remain silent. They should not make our life dark. They should also reconsider the facilities,” said Sahar, another student.

Afghanistan’s education system has been devastated by more than three decades of conflict and an estimated 3.7 million children are out-of-school in the country.