Kabul, Afghanistan - The Taliban-run Ministry of Higher Education has banned female students in Afghanistan from registering for the 2023 university entrance exam.

This is according to a letter sent to private universities and higher education institutions, local broadcaster TOLOnews reported on Saturday.

The letter states that female students cannot enroll until "further notice."

Officials in the Ministry of Higher Education later confirmed the letter and the report to dpa.

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Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, Afghanistan has become the only country worldwide to deny women education.

The Taliban initially banned teenage girls from attending schools beyond grade six. More recently, university education for women was suspended until further notice.

The Taliban cited what it claimed were violations of Islamic dress codes and co-education, in banning women from universities.

UNESCO dedicated this year's International Day of Education to girls and women in Afghanistan, earlier this week. The UN Secretary General called on the extremists to reverse the ban on Afghan women and girls’ access to secondary and higher education.

In addition, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, an intergovernmental group consisting of all Muslim-majority countries, has rejected the Taliban's claim that its treatment of Afghan women and girls is in line with Islam's Sharia law.