"The government has not done much," he tells AFP at one of the group's six centres where art classes reflect the war in which most Afghan children were raised, one painting showing a bombed-out and roofless classroom.

One of the government's successes, however, is that it has increased by five-fold the number of school enrollments since the Taliban fell nearly six years ago, according to British-based charity Oxfam.

About six million children are in school, still only half of all school-age children in the country, the education ministry says.

The UN's Siddique says tackling the growing number of street children in Kabul needs more than just "aid money".

Nearly 13 billion dollars has been spent since 2001, including on security with a Taliban insurgency unabating.

"We need to support parents who are currently not sending their children to school for financial or cultural reasons," he says.

Afghanistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world, with about half of men and 20 percent of women able to read and write. Some poorer families want their children to work instead of go to school.

"This is not an issue solely related to money - there is a need for cultural change where parents value the importance of education for all children - both girls and boys," Siddique says.

In the meantime, little Shakir will continue with his broken eggs.

"I just fell over and my eggs smashed," he insists quietly.

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