Policy Options to Finance Public Higher Education in Afghanistan Frank Mcnernery University of Massachusetts Amherst, [email protected]
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Open Access Dissertations 9-2009 Policy Options to Finance Public Higher Education in Afghanistan Frank McNernery University of Massachusetts Amherst, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations Part of the Higher Education Administration Commons Recommended Citation McNernery, Frank, "Policy Options to Finance Public Higher Education in Afghanistan" (2009). Open Access Dissertations. 101. https://doi.org/10.7275/5zdh-aq78 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/101 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. POLICY OPTIONS TO FINANCE PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION IN AFGHANISTAN A Dissertation Presented By FRANK MCNERNEY Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION September 2009 Education © Copyright by Frank McNerney 2009 All Rights Reserved POLICY OPTIONS TO FINANCE PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION IN AFGHANISTAN A Dissertation Presented By FRANK MCNERNEY Approved as to style and content by: ______________________________________________ Alfred S. Hartwell, Chair ______________________________________________ Joseph B. Berger, Member ______________________________________________ David Evans, Member ______________________________________________ John Hird, Member ___________________________________ Christine B. McCormick, Dean School of Education DEDICATION To my wife Yijie Zhao, and my children, Tara and Eric ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank many friends at CIE and also in higher education in Afghanistan for their help with this study. My Afghan associates spent generous time from their exceedingly busy schedules to discuss the future of education in their country; I appreciate their advice and observations. The CIE faculty members were particularly encouraging: Ash Hartwell, my advisor, has always been an inspiration. I have always appreciated his thoughtful comments, open mind and his considerate nature. Moreover, I will always be indebted to Gretchen Rossman and David Evans for giving me the opportunity to join the center. I also want to thank my wife, Yijie Zhao, for her strong support, insights and suggestions. She has been my motivator and my coach throughout the process. v ABSTRACT POLICY OPTIONS TO FINANCE PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION IN AFGHANISTAN SEPTEMBER 2009 FRANK MCNERNEY, B.A., DARTMOUTH COLLEGE M.Ed., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Alfred S. Hartwell While recovering from decades of conflict and trying to adjust to an incipient free market economy, public higher education in Afghanistan is currently confronted with rapidly increasing enrollment and inadequate government financing. The imbalance between high demand for and insufficient supply of higher education has led to a decrease in the quality of education and an urgent need to develop non-state sources of funding. Using Johnstone’s (1986) diversified funding model as the conceptual framework, this exploratory case study reports actors’ attitudes and perceptions of the financing policy options for Afghan public higher education and the impediments to introduce this model in Afghanistan. Data were collected from documents and semi- structured interviews with Afghan administrators, politicians, instructors and students during four months in Kabul in 2008. The findings show that: a) the state has most likely reached the maximum financial contribution to public higher education and that little more can be expected; b) that the existing funding for this sub-sector is not managed well; c) that the current legal vi framework does not support expansion of the entrepreneurial activities that are developing at the higher education institutions; c) that the legal system does not provide incentives to develop Afghan national donor support; d) that the introduction of user fees, though currently under consideration, is confronted with significant technical impediments, and e) that the introduction of tuition is not on the agenda because the higher education institutions have found the introduction of “night school” as an alternative means that allows the charging of tuition under the guise of “extra” services. In light of the aggregated actors’ attitudes towards these funding options, this study identifies considerable legal, technical and political blockages that hinder the creation of a functioning diversified funding model. The findings indicate that one significant pre-requisite for any development of these new funding sources will be increased institutional autonomy. Without devolution in power from the centralized ministry to the institutions, the necessary incentives and mechanisms will probably be missing for the development of these alternative sources of funding. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………………. v ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………….. vi LIST OF TABLES …………………………………………………………………... xi LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………………. xii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………... 1 Background ……………………………………………………………… 1 Statement of the Problem ………………………………………………... 4 Current Efforts to Address the Problem ……………………….. 9 Research Questions ……………………………………………………… 11 The Importance of This Research………………………………………... 12 Study Overview …………………………………………………………. 13 2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND CONTEXT ……………………………... 14 Conceptual Framework ………………………………………………….. 14 Literature Review ………………………………………………………...22 Donors …………………………………………………………. 23 Entrepreneurship ………………………………………………. 29 Parents and Students (Tuition and Fees) ………………………. 35 Comparative Analysis with Other Countries………… 37 Equity Considerations………………………………... 40 Rates of Return Analysis…………………………….. 41 Factors that Limit Tuition and Fee Charges ………… 46 The Timing of Charges..…………………………..…. 52 Selected Factors Affecting Parents’ and Students’ Decision to Pay Fees and Tuition ……….................... 55 Summary ………………………………………………………. 59 Selected Contextual Factors That Constrain Policy in Afghanistan……... 60 Politics…………………………………………………………. 62 Economic Conditions ………………………………………….. 67 viii Donors …………………………………………………………. 71 Bureaucratic Structures ………………………………………... 74 The Higher Education System ………………………. 75 The Structure of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) ……………………………………………... 84 The Financing Structure of Higher Education …......... 92 Increasing Demand for Higher Education …………………….. 100 Competition …………………………………………………….101 Legal Framework and Regulations ……………………………. 104 Trends …………………………………………………………. 106 Autonomy …………………………………………… 106 The Increasing Voice of Students ………………........ 109 Summary of Contextual Factors That Influence Financing Reform Policy …………………………………………………. 111 3. DESIGN AND METHODS ………………………………………………………. 114 The Case Study Approach …………………………………………......... 114 The Study Design …………………………………………………........... 120 Limitations …………………………………………………….. 122 Methods …………………………………………………………………..124 Selection of Candidates for Interviews …………………........... 124 Categorizing Interviewees …………………………………….. 127 Interview Structure ……………………………………………………….128 4. FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS ………………………………………… 133 Does the Government Have the Resources? …………………………….. 133 Summary Discussion on Government Resources ……………... 140 Does Higher Education Need Resources? ………………………………. 140 Summary Discussion on the Need for Resources in Higher Education …………………………………………………........ 149 Where Will the Resources Come From? ……………………………....... 153 ix Donor Funding ……………………………………………........ 153 Summary Discussion on Donors as a Funding Source……........ 160 Entrepreneurial Activities ………………………………........... 161 Summary Discussion on Entrepreneurship as a Funding Source …………………………………………........ .... 168 Cost Recovery from Students and Parents ……………….......... 170 Summary Discussion on Tuition and Fees ……………………..191 Summary Discussion for Chapter Four ……………………………..........195 5. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………………... 197 The Policy Process in Afghanistan …………………………………........ 197 Summary of Actors …………………………………………………........ 199 Process Blockages ……………………………………………………….. 203 Analysis by Policy Option ………………………………………………. 208 The Status Quo: State Funding …………………….………….. 208 Donor Funding…………………………………………………. 212 Entrepreneurship ………………………………………………. 214 User Fees ……………………………...……………………….. 216 Tuition …………………………………………………………. 221 Summary Discussion ……………………………………………………. 223 Postscript ………………………………………………………………… 226 APPENDICES A. AN EXAMPLE OF A COMPLEX ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE TO INCREASE DONOR RESOURCES ………………….………………... 228 B. PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS 2008………..…………. 229 C. PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS 2009 ………………... 230 D. THE POLICY PROCESS IN AFGHANISTAN…………………………….. 231 E. ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS CONCERNING AFGHANISTAN……….... 232 BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………… 236 x LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Actor Groups ………………………………………………………………...128 2. Summary of Actor Positions by Policy Option…...……………………….... 201 3. Summary of Process Blockages ………………………………………….... ..205 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Increasing Demand for Higher Education...……………………………….. 5 2. Projected Expenditures per