Afghan education

Afghanistan: promoting education during times of increased fragility

Noticias

By reliefweb

Education has been at the forefront of the political battles and conflicts that have plagued Afghanistan over the past few decades.

Changing political ideologies have taken a toll on all students as the entire Afghan education system including its staff, buildings, curricula, and attendance, was wiped out.

The current Afghan government has made service delivery a priority to promote social cohesion and trust in public institutions and pave the way for growth and jobs.

But despite these efforts, Afghanistan has been experiencing increased fragility.

The report Afghanistan: Promoting Education During Times of Increased Fragility provides an up-to-date analysis of the Afghan education sector, including the use of public money spanning over a period of six years.

Further to that, The report offers new insights on the performance of the education system and recommends reforms to improve learning outcomes and maximize public expenditures.

Key Findings

  • Afghanistan has made great strides in improving access and enrollment in primary schools, but access outcomes are not equitable. In 2016, out of a population of 34.66 million, more than 9.2 million Afghan youths and children were enrolled in school, representing a 9-fold growth since 2001. But provincial analysis shows a high proportion of out-of-school children, including girls exceeding 50 percent in 15 of the 34 provinces. Rural children and youth are 10 percent more likely to be out of school compared to the national average.
  • There is also a big gap between enrollment and attendance, witnessed by the fact that nearly half of enrolled students do not show up regularly at school. In Afghanistan, schools typically keep a student on the enrollment rolls for three years after the student stops attending. These are called “permanently absent” students and these numbers have implications for calculating unit costs per student as they are calculated based on official enrollment figures.
  • In addition to considerable access challenges, the education system in Afghanistan is facing a learning crisis. Many young Afghans do not know how to read and write. Only half of the population between the ages of 15 and 24 is literate. Other factors contributing to low learning outcomes and thus the learning crisis include the low qualification of teachers and inadequate learning environment, with the teacher force remaining generally underqualified.
  • Education spending in Afghanistan has reduced over the past five years; only considerable donor financing has kept the sector afloat to deliver basic services.However, substantial resources are needed to prepare for the increase in students attending secondary education. Despite enrollment growth, education spending in Afghanistan has declined over time as a proportion of the government budget. During the period of 2010-2015, thanks to the growing economy, the total government budget tripled, but this growth did not translate into a larger share of the budget being allocated for education.
  • Although Afghanistan’s average education spending is higher than education expenditures in comparable countries, due to the lack of or inefficient use of resources, the country’s current spending trajectory is not sufficient to support expected enrollment growth, particularly in lower and upper secondary education. There are significant challenges that the country must overcome to ensure that funding is maintained at an adequate level. Without new resources or improvements in the efficient and effective use of available resources, the current system would not be able to support (expected) student growth.
  • Unit cost analysis, on its surface, does not suggest that there is significant waste at any particular subsector. However, it is important to remember that there is a significant gap between attendance and enrollment rates. Adjusting this unit cost using attendance rates instead of enrollment rates, Afghanistan spends about 25 percent of per capita gross domestic product (GDP). This is higher than most low-income countries for which data exist. Higher education unit costs are closer to the low-income country averages: 141 percent of per capita income in Afghanistan compared to 125 percent across low-income countries. Other sources of inefficiency include low budget execution, especially in capital projects, high overhead spending and thus few resources for learning materials.
  • The benefit incidence analysis shows that public spending across all education levels, from primary school to higher education, benefits more children from higher income quintiles.Among primary school students, children from the highest income quintile constitute one-fourth of all students while students from the lowest income quintile account for only 15 percent. The bottom two income quintiles combined represent 26 percent of students at the lower secondary level (compared to the top quintile students that account for nearly a third of all students). At the upper secondary level, the bottom two quintiles can claim only a fifth of the students, and at the university level, only 12 percent. More than half the students who attend university are from the higher income quintile in the country.

Recommendations

  • To improve the performance and equity of the education sector, Afghanistan must reform the sector policies and funding priorities. Afghanistan should target investments towards improving equity. Given that poor learning conditions are linked to repetition, attrition and dropping out, Afghanistan must invest in improving the quality of education by increasing spending on teaching and learning materials.
  • Expand/stabilize access and attendance through community-based education, especially in rural and conflict-affected areas where school attendance comes at a considerable risk.However, given the variety of approaches and costs, designing a harmonized and cost-effective package of services should be a priority.
  • Develop a long-term needs projection for the education budget.Afghanistan must focus on developing multi-year budget projections adjusted for the current and future needs of the education system. As the pressure for expanding school infrastructure at the national level slows down over time with the eventual reduction in the school-age population, long-term budgeting should consider an increasing need for school repairs and maintenance as well as much needed school materials and supplies.
  • Make better use of the existing budget structure and the information systems for more transparency on allocation and use of public resources.Analyses of education sector performance and its financing point to the necessity to strengthen the comprehensiveness of data provided through the multiple management information systems. Institute integrated information management systems for better monitoring and reporting on outcomes and evaluation.

Source of the review: https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-promoting-education-during-times-increased-fragility

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A New Push Is On for Afghan Schools, but the Numbers Are Grim

Mujib Mashal

By Mujib Mashal and Najim Rahim

Before the start of another Afghan school year, about 200 tribal elders in the southeastern district of Laja Mangal gathered in a schoolyard for an important declaration: Any family that did not send its children to school would be fined $70, about half a civil servant’s monthly salary.

The district of about 50,000 people had built seven schools over the past 15 years, yet it had struggled to attract students from the mountainous area where the Taliban also have influence. The elders, feeling old tribal customs were holding back their children, thought the drastic measure was necessary.

“They see those people who go to school and become important people in the government and international organizations, so they have tasted the value of education,” said Khayesta Khan Ahadi, who was the headmaster of the first school built in the district.

Mr. Ahadi said local Taliban, after outreach by the tribal elders, announced their support for the decision from the loudspeakers of local mosques.

The tribal elders’ decision has gained attention across Afghanistan not just because it could help more children get an education, but also because it comes at a time when many remain deprived. Violence and corruption have overshadowed what was once a remarkable success story.

3.5 million children are unschooled.

That 3.5 million figure is according to Unicef. Seventy-five percent of them are girls.

The reasons vary. Violence remains high and widespread. There are too few female teachers, and many families will only let girls be taught by women. For many, going to school means a walk of many miles each day.

In certain parts of the country enjoying relative peace, however, female enrollment seems higher than that of boys.

In the central Bamian Province, 58 percent of the 162,000 students are female, according to Ayyub Arvin, the provincial director of education.

1,075 schools remain closed.

The country’s Education Ministry says it has 17,500 schools across the country, but 1,075 remained shut last year, largely because of raging violence. The south of the country, where violence has been relentless over the past decade, has been disproportionately affected by the school closures.

Activists say the number of closed schools is even higher. Mattiullah Wesa, who leads the organization the Pen Path, said they have counted 1,600 shuttered schools.

Of Afghanistan’s approximately 400 school districts, there are 48 districts where not a single male student has graduated from high school in the past 17 years, Mr. Wesa said. There are around 130 districts from where not a single girl has graduated from high school in the same period, he added.

Nearly half of schools lack buildings.

A survey of 32 of the country’s 34 provinces by The New York Times shows close to half the schools lack buildings. Provincial officials in these areas reported that more than 7,000 schools either teach in open air or have worked out temporary arrangements for classes in rental homes.

The provinces of Ghor and Herat in the west, Badakhshan in the northeast, and Nangarhar in the east had the highest number of schools without buildings, each with at least 400.

“Even inside the city, and the centers of the districts, we have schools that lack buildings,” said Rohullah Mohaqeq, the provincial director of education in Badakhshan.

Corruption hits every level.

Despite huge donor investment in Afghan education, corruption remains one of the major causes for its abysmal infrastructure.

The country’s education system is marred by corruption — from the smallest procedures of modifying school certificates, to the appointment of teachers and the handling of school construction contracts — a damningreport by the country’s independent corruption monitor said last year. People seeking a teaching job could pay as much as a $1,000 in bribes, nearly five months’ salary, to secure a position.

Recently, the government has tried to tackle corruption in the hiring of teachers by introducing a more rigorous process through its civil service commission. The Education Ministry is the country’s largest civil service employer.

Corruption has also been seen as a major reason for discrepancies in enrollment numbers. The country’s previous government had claimed more than 11 million children were in school, with allotted resources often going into the pockets of local and central officials. But the new government has placed that number anywhere between 6.2 million to a little over 9 million.

Pressure on Taliban works, sometimes.

Across the country, as violence has become the daily reality, elders have tried to figure out local arrangements that would reopen schools.

“The good news is that the Taliban now want schools in their area of control because of local pressure,” said Dawood Shah Safari, the head of the education department in Helmand, whereas many as 30 school buildings are used as cover by fighters on both sides. “Villagers keep coming to me with letters of approval from the Taliban, asking us to open schools.”

In northeastern Warduj district, which is largely controlled by the Taliban, officials said 16 schools that had been closed for two years were reopening this spring after talks with the group.

The 13 schools in the Nawa district of Ghazni Province have been closed since 2001, with no child able to attend, according to Mujib-ur-Rahman Ansar, the provincial director of education. But recently, local elders convinced the Taliban to allow the schools to reopen. As many as 25,000 children could attend if the Taliban allow both boys and girls, Mr. Ansar said.

“I must tell you that there isn’t any professional teacher for these students,” Mr. Ansar said. “I will hire one to two teachers, and the guy may only be able to read and write, with a ninth or 10th grade education, not much more.”

Other times, Taliban still threaten.

Last week, as schools prepared to open in the northern province of Kunduz, the official ceremony in the capital city had to be shifted because of Taliban threats.

Only a quarter of Kunduz city’s 130 schools have opened their doors to students. The rest, even those under nominal government control, are waiting for the Taliban to give the green light.

The dispute seems to be over the mechanism of paying the teachers. The Taliban say they are not opposed to education but will keep the schools shut until the government changes the method of paying teachers from bank deposits to cash.

On Saturday, hundreds of teachers marched in Kunduz city, saying they hadn’t been paid for five months.

Mawlawi Bismillah, the Taliban’s head of education for Kunduz, said the group’s position was intended to reduce the headache for teachers, who need to make long trips to the provincial capital to withdraw their money. It’s easier if the money is delivered by middlemen, he said.

Government officials say the Taliban are pushing the change because they want a cut.

“They should come and monitor the payment process,” Mr. Bismillah said. “In our areas of control, we have very active attention and monitoring.”

Source of the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/01/world/asia/afghanistan-schools-taliban.html

 

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