By Abdul Haleem

    KABUL, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Bunches of school children, girls and boys, were seen going to school in Afghan capital city Kabul on Monday, although unaware of International Children's Day.

    Attired in school uniform, Karima, 11, was in hurry to reach the classroom on time and she wants to become a doctor.

    Like many Afghans use one name, Karima, a student in grade five and studying in a public primary school asserted, "my dream is to become a doctor and serve my war-weary people."

    When asked if she knows about International Children's Day, she said, "I don't know."

    However, the ambitious and lovely child in her childish manner said, "Let me go to school" and laughingly run away.

    Although, the Afghan children know little about the International Children's Day, the state of children is going to improve gradually in the war-torn country as nearly 7.2 million children with 35 percent of them girls go to school in today's Afghanistan.

    "I want to become a President," a 13-year old boy Mohammad Sabir said.

    A pupil of grade 7, cheerful Sabir was sure that his war-battered country would not slide back to turmoil and arguing, "two years ago, we studied under tent but our school today is a newly constructed luxury building."

    Nevertheless, Afghanistan still needs long way to recover from war aftermath, rebuilding educational institutions, thus enabling all Afghan children to get education.

    Children suffering from war and instability in Afghanistan are seen in bulk in the capital city Kabul busy in forced labor including washing car, polishing shoes and street vendors.

    Mohammad Wazir, 10, who works as shoes polisher, often wanders after school at a roadside in Kabul city. He earns some 150 to 200Afghanis (3-4 U.S. dollars) daily.

    "I have no choice but to work," Wazir added. His father, a mason also works from dawn to dusk to feed an eight-member family.

    The ongoing insurgency has led to the closure of some 650 schools, mostly in the southern region where Taliban fighters are active. The trauma, according to Education Ministry, has prevented more than 400,000 children from schooling.

    Moreover, the spiraling security incidents and impoverished economy have added to the suffering of Afghans and rendered thousands of children messing about streets.

    Though there is no official statistic, it is said that only in the capital city Kabul, some 60,000 street children are wandering to support their families as forced labors.

    Security incidents, as daunting challenge on the way of rebuilding Afghanistan, has badly affected the education as well as children in Afghanistan.

    Gopal Sharma, the Deputy Director of UNICEF (United Nations Children Fund) in Afghanistan, said last April that 292 schools had been attacked in 2008 while so far this year 29 cases of attacks, including several toxic gas attacks, have been registered.

    Around 5.3 million children between 7 to 18 years old, according to officials with the Education Ministry, have no access to school mostly in the far-flanged and militancy-plagued villages.

    Despite all the negative factors, the Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs said that the government would do its best to improve the state of children and in this regard have taken over 12,000 poor children in pioneers to educate them.

    "I want my father to find job and facilitate me to study in school," said eight-year old boy Mohammad who sells shopping bags in a roadside market in Kabul.