Afghan schoolchildren sit outdoors at an open classroom in Ghazni, Afghanistan  on May 28, 2014. (PHOTO / AFP)

SARI PUL - Scores of students of a primary girl school were poisoned in Sancharak district of Afghanistan's northern Sari Pul province on Sunday, provincial director for Information and Culture Mufti Amir Saripuli said Monday.

"A total of 77 students, seven teachers, five parents and an employee of Faizabad Girl School in Kabod Ab area of Sancharak district were poisoned but the condition of affected people is stable," Saripulit told Xinhua without providing more details.

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According to villagers, 87 persons including 80 affected students had been taken to hospital

Police said around 60 students were hospitalized, adding that the culpirts behind the poisoning had "entered" the school.  

"Some unknown people entered a girls' ... school in Sancharak District .. and poisoned the classes, when the girls come to classes they got poisoned," said Den Mohammad Nazari, Sari Pul's police spokesperson, without elaborating on which substance was used or who was thought to be behind the incident.

Mahnaz, a mother of one of the affected students, condemned the incident and called upon the provincial administration to identify and bring to justice those behind the crime.

The father of another student, Ali Agha Karbalai, described the number of affected students as high as 80, adding that he was praying for an early recovery of his daughter.

According to villagers, 87 persons including 80 affected students had been taken to hospital on Sunday. 

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In neighboring Iran, poisoning incidents at girls' schools sickened an estimated 13,000 mostly female students since November.

During Afghanistan's previous foreign-backed government, several poisoning attacks, including suspected gas attacks, on girls' schools had taken place.

The Taliban administration has prevented most female students from attending high school and university since taking over in 2021, sparking condemnation from international governments and many Afghans.

Taliban authorities have kept primary schools open for girls, up until the age of around 12 and say they are in favor of female education under certain conditions.