The higher education minister made the announcement on Tuesday, saying it would take immediate effect.

The ban further restricts women's education - girls have already been excluded from secondary schools since the Taliban returned last year.

In Kabul, female students have told the BBC about their anguish.

"They destroyed the only bridge that could connect me with my future," one Kabul University student said. "How can I react? I believed that I could study and change my future or bring light to my life, but they destroyed it."

The US condemned the Taliban's actions "in the strongest terms" and said such a move "will come with consequences for the Taliban".

"The Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all in Afghanistan," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement. "No country can thrive when half of its population is held back."

The United Nations also said it was "deeply concerned".

"Education is a fundamental human right. A door closed to women's education is a door closed to the future of Afghanistan," said the UN chief's deputy special representative for Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov.

The Taliban's leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and his inner circle have been against modern education - particularly for girls and women.

Women banned from parks, gyms and swimming pools

The ban on tertiary education follows rules set last month when women were banned from parks, gyms and swimming pools in the capital.

Three months ago the Taliban allowed thousands of girls and women to write university entrance exams in most provinces across the country. 

But there were sweeping restrictions on the subjects they could apply for, with engineering, economics, veterinary science and agriculture blocked and journalism severely restricted.

Under Taliban rule, universities had already been operating under discriminatory rules for women - with gender-segregated entrances to campuses and separate classrooms.

Female students could only be taught by women professors or old men.

There was an exodus of trained academics after the withdrawal of US-led forces, and this year many teaching staff have gone unpaid for months.

In March, the Taliban promised to reopen some high schools for girls but then cancelled the move on the day they were due to return, citing funding and syllabus issues, which rights groups said were excuses.

BBC