Kankor

Overview

Kankor (also written Concours) is Afghanistan's national university entrance examination. It is taken after grade 12 and is the usual route into the country's public universities and public semi-higher institutes (community colleges), which admit students by exam score and stated field-of-study preference rather than by separate university-level admission tests. The exam was historically run by the Ministry of Higher Education; a dedicated National Examination Authority (NExA) was separated out from the Ministry of Higher Education and set up in 2018 to run Kankor and other national exams. Since the Taliban took control of the government in 2021, Kankor has continued to run, administered by NExA together with the Ministry of Education and the (Taliban-run) Ministry of Higher Education, but its conduct has been significantly disrupted, most seriously by the exclusion of women, described below.

Who can apply

Historically, Kankor has been open, free of charge, to graduates of grade 12 at general high schools and lyceums, as well as graduates of religious madrasas/seminaries, who sit a related but separate religious-track version of the exam.

Since late 2022 the Taliban administration has suspended women's access to university education, and starting with the 2023 exam cycle women and girls have also been barred from registering for Kankor itself. Multiple news reports on the 2026 exam cycle describe this as the fourth consecutive year girls have been excluded from sitting Kankor. Male grade 12 and madrasa graduates have continued to be allowed to register and sit the exam in each cycle since 2021. Given how often this has changed, treat any statement of current eligibility as provisional and check the latest official announcement.

Exam pattern

Kankor is a single written test of multiple-choice questions drawn from the grade 10 to 12 school curriculum, grouped broadly into mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences and languages, with the exact subject mix depending on a candidate's school stream. Reports describe the exam as having around 160 questions, to be completed in roughly two to three hours, with correct answers worth different point values (commonly one to three points) depending on the question. Reported maximum possible scores vary by source and stream, in a range of roughly 320 to 370 points, with totals around 360 commonly cited.

The religious-track exam for madrasa graduates follows a separate but related format set by the same authority.

Marking and results

Results are reported as a numerical score. Secondary reports describe a minimum qualifying score of around 150 for admission to a public university (higher education) and a lower minimum of around 140 for admission to a semi-higher institute (community college); candidates scoring below the relevant minimum are not placed. Candidates are ranked by score, and higher-demand fields (such as medicine, engineering, computer science, economics and law) and institutions in major cities (Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif) generally require higher scores to secure a seat than less competitive fields or provincial institutions.

Important dates

Kankor has historically run as an annual national exam, with sittings traditionally reported around December to April depending on the year and province. In recent cycles the exam has instead been spread across several separate phases over the year, by province and grade/stream group. For the 2026 round (solar year 1405), news reports describe a first phase around 11 May 2026, a further phase around 18 May, phases for Kabul's grade 12 school graduates around 4-5 June, and a final/miscellaneous phase around 12 June, with Ministry of Education statements also referencing phases extending into July 2026. Exact dates, phases and locations are set and announced each cycle by NExA and the Ministry of Education/Higher Education, and have varied considerably year to year, so check the current cycle's official announcement rather than relying on a fixed schedule.

How to apply

Candidates register through their school or madrasa ahead of each cycle, using a registration form together with a recent photograph and a copy of their Tazkira (national identity document). After initial registration, candidates listed on the official roster attend an in-person biometric registration session at an assigned time and location, bringing their admission card and original identity document; only candidates confirmed on the official list are admitted. Exact document requirements, fees and deadlines are announced separately for each cycle by NExA/the Ministry of Education, so confirm the current cycle's announcement before applying.

After the exam

Results are published by province/cycle, and candidates who meet the minimum qualifying score are placed into a public university or semi-higher institute. At registration, candidates list their preferred fields of study (commonly up to five); placement is then decided by matching ranked scores against seats available in each preferred field and institution, so a candidate's actual placement depends on their score relative to other candidates competing for the same field and city, not on the preference list alone. Candidates who do not meet the relevant minimum score are not placed in that cycle.

Preparation tips

• Review the full grade 10 to 12 curriculum for your stream, since Kankor draws questions from across those three years rather than from a separate syllabus.

• Practise under timed, multiple-choice conditions, since the exam is entirely multiple-choice with a fixed time limit of roughly two to three hours.

• Research realistic score requirements for your preferred fields and cities before listing preferences, since competitive fields (medicine, engineering, computer science, economics, law) and major-city institutions generally need higher scores than other options.

• Follow official NExA and Ministry of Education announcements closely for your province, since registration windows, biometric sessions and exam phases are announced separately each cycle and have changed in format and timing in recent years.

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