Girls form 58% of Afghan enrolment

Under the Taliban in Afghanistan education for women was not allowed. Fatima Rabbani speaks to the country's vice-president on what is being done to raise the literacy rate

In a country that has one of the world's lowest literacy rates, there has been a tremendous demand for education in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime. Schools and universities started reopening and more than four million people enrolled.

Under the Taliban, education for women was not allowed but now girls comprise up to 58 per cent of enrolment in large cities such as Herat and Kabul and a majority of the teachers are women.

Change, however, comes at a price - kidnappings and threats against female teachers. But it hasn't discouraged families from sending their daughters to schools and universities.

Critics might say that the new government's attitude towards education is unenthusiastic. But progress has been made.

Unesco and the government have launched several projects to raise the literacy rate throughout the country. The projects' aim is to get all children into school and to rebuild the education system.

Notes interviewed Ahmad Zia Massoud, vice-president of Afghanistan, at his home. He said the government has plans to try and introduce a new system of education because the present system is outdated.

He added: "We are planning to invite experts from abroad in different fields to help us with this and we will look at comparative education between different countries and see what suits Afghanistan best."

Massoud, who said he is very optimistic about the future of education in Afghanistan, observed that the most important factor to consider is the country's culture and traditions.

From that, he said, the government can decide what kind of education system is suitable. He credited international organisations such as Unicef for their help.

Decade-old system

The system of education in the schools has been used for more than a decade. New languages have been introduced in schools funded by foreign governments.

The result is that in addition to Dari, Pashto and English, many schools now teach German and French. The staff are required to have a B.A. in the particular subject they teach.

Massoud said that although there are no co-education schools, there are plans to open them depending on whether or not they will be suitable for society.

The most important thing at present, he said, is to promote the same level of education for girls and boys.

Massoud said the main problem in the development of education arises from the fact that funds are not sufficient to improve and invest in education.

There are no social barriers, he said, but the economic situation is unstable and not yet improved.

The development of education depends on the strength of the economy. "We must invest a lot in education in order to improve and develop the education system," he said.

Thirst for knowledge

Despite more than 70 per cent of the educational infrastructure being destroyed, the Afghan spirit and thirst for knowledge remain intact, said Massoud.

Developing education is part of the reconstruction process. "While infrastructure is a priority," he said, "skill is needed at all levels of education. We cannot disappoint the Afghan people who are so keen to grow."

He encouraged Afghans to learn from nations such as India on how a country can develop and advance through education.

He also said the "backbone of every country is education, no country will develop without education and through education we will empower women".

Despite such significant progress in a short period of time, the education system is still brittle because the resources to move forward are limited.

But Massoud was confident that "change and progress will come but it is a process that will take time, especially in a war-torn country like Afghanistan".

The writer is a student of mass communications at the American University of Sharjah