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The State of Public Education in Afghanistan 2012

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The State of Public Education in Afghanistan 2012 June - 2012 Political Problems, and Future Prospects With a Few Policy Initiatives for Literacy Expansion in India Courtesy: Paula Bronstein Aqil Zahirpour VIF MONOGRAPH Vivekananda International Foundation 3, San Martin Marg, Chanakyapuri New Delhi 110021, India www.vifindia.org Zahirpour: The State of Public Education in Afghanistan 2012 © Copyright 2012 Vivekananda International Foundation India. All rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted form only for non-commercial purposes. Its publication elsewhere requires prior permission from the author and the VIF India. Views, and opinions expressed herein are however, those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of VIF. © Vivekananda International Foundation India 2 Zahirpour: The State of Public Education in Afghanistan 2012 Table of Contents ABOUTH THE AUTHOR..................................................................................................5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT....................................................................................................6 LIST OF ACRONYMS.......................................................................................................7 PREFACE.......................................................................................................................10 PURPOSE......................................................................................................................12 CHAPTER I....................................................................................................................14 Education in Afghanistan: Historical Perspective..............................................................14 Formal Education in the 20th Century.....................................................................15 Education Policy of 1930s........................................................................................15 Policy of the First Republic 1970-78.........................................................................16 Policy of the Democratic Republic 1978-92..............................................................16 The Islamic State 1992-96........................................................................................17 The Taliban Emirate 1996-2001 ..............................................................................18 Conclusion........................................................................................................................18 CHAPTER II...................................................................................................................20 Afghanistan in the 21st Century: Education Background.................................................20 Current Status ..................................................................................................................21 Girls© Education........................................................................................................22 Private and Cross Border Schools.............................................................................22 Inclusive Education .................................................................................................22 Distance Education ..................................................................................................24 Levels of Public Education ...............................................................................................24 Basics, Intermediate, Secondary, and Technical...............................................................24 Categories of Education....................................................................................................24 General Education (GE)...........................................................................................25 Teachers© Training Centre/College (TTC).................................................................27 Islamic Education (IE) ...........................................................................................29 Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) .............................................30 Non-formal/Community-based Education (CBE).....................................................31 Conclusion........................................................................................................................33 © Vivekananda International Foundation India 3 Zahirpour: The State of Public Education in Afghanistan 2012 CHAPTER III..................................................................................................................34 Problems and the Challenges: Background.......................................................................34 Political Leadership, and Instability..........................................................................35 Corruption................................................................................................................36 Institutional Weakness..............................................................................................36 Volatile Security Condition.......................................................................................37 The Most Recent Threats..................................................................................................38 Little Coordination between Aid Agencies and the MoE..........................................38 Transit of Textbooks Pending in Pakistan........................................................................39 Ill-equipped Educational Buildings...........................................................................39 Rapid Increase in Demand for Education.................................................................40 Disorder and Violence in Schools.............................................................................40 Conclusion........................................................................................................................41 CHAPTER IV..................................................................................................................42 Future Prospects, and the Way forward: Background.......................................................42 Prospects...........................................................................................................................42 The Way Forward..............................................................................................................43 India©s Policy Initiatives: Background & Assessment.........................................................45 Mid Day Meal Scheme: Lunch at Schools.................................................................46 Financing Education through Vouchers....................................................................47 Laadli Scheme: Scholarships for Baby Girls..............................................................48 How does the Money go to the Child?.............................................................................49 Galli Galli Sim Sim: Using Media for Education.......................................................49 Meena Radio: Educating Kids through Radio...........................................................50 SMC: Involving Community in School Management ...............................................51 Performance-linked Pay (PLP): For Teachers© Quality of Performance......................52 Activity Based Learning (ABL): Joyful Teaching ......................................................53 Remedial Education: Providing Support Classes......................................................54 Mobile & Immersive Learning for Literacy in Emerging Economies, (Millie)...........56 Assessment........................................................................................................................56 Conclusion........................................................................................................................58 APPENDIX I...................................................................................................................59 BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................................................................82 VIF-INDIA......................................................................................................................86 © Vivekananda International Foundation India 4 Zahirpour: The State of Public Education in Afghanistan 2012 ABOUTH THE AUTHOR Born, and raised in Afghanistan, Aqil Zahirpour has studied Political Science (University of Delhi), Business Administration (Sikkim Manipal University), United Nations and International Understanding (New Delhi Institute of UN Studies), and Good Governance - Afghanistan Programme (University of Erfurt). He has previously worked with several NGOs and has offered speeches in many public events. He has extensively written academic papers, and unsolicited articles on Afghanistan. He is currently, a DAAD Scholar pursuing MPP 1 programme at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy in Germany. This monograph has been written, and compiled during his research internship in New Delhi, India. 1 Master of Public Policy © Vivekananda International Foundation India 5 Zahirpour: The State of Public Education in Afghanistan 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to the Vivekananda International Foundation India (VIFI), particularly Hon©ble Ajit K. Doval, the VIF Director and Brig Vinod Anand, Senior Fellow and Research Coordinator, for
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