The Taliban have reversed a decision to allow teenage girls back to secondary school despite repeated assurances they could resume classes from Wednesday, sparking international condemnation and leaving desperate students stranded outside campuses.

Schools were scheduled to reopen in Afghanistan on Wednesday for the new academic year. Girls have been allowed to attend primary school and the Taliban had said students from Grade 7, or about age 13, would be allowed to resume classes for the first time since the militants seized power last August.

But the Taliban made a U-turn on Wednesday morning, announcing that girls’ high schools would remain closed “until further notice”, according to the official Bakhtar News Agency, which said girls’ uniforms were not in compliance with Islamic law.