UN strikes agreement with Taliban leaders to set up thousands of schools in insurgent areas Some 4,000 schools in insurgent controlled territory will teach 120,000 primary school children Credit: Omid Fazel The United Nations has reached an agreement with the Taliban leadership to set up thousands of schools inside insurgent-controlled territory. A nationwide scheme with the UN's children's body, Unicef, will see as many as 4,000 informal schools operate in Taliban territory in Afghanistan, after months of negotiations with militant envoys in Doha. The agreement covers education for both boys and girls, but will begin with classes for just the first three grades of primary school, both sides told the Telegraph.