Afghanistan Education and Truth

Even after the end of the Taliban regime, the education system in Afghanistan has to be rooted and expanded so that the Taliban tendencies do not re-emerge in Afghanistan and curb radicalism, religious fanaticism and oppressive power center, all the institutions of Afghanistan, from the government to the grassroots, with the international community, have to be rooted here. Ignoring roles and contributions will not work.

Because India will be happy to have a strong international ally. In the original journey of education, India should also think positively about this process in Afghanistan and have a policy of helping it so that a nation that has come out of religious fundamentalism can face a fundamentalist nation like Pakistan and its fundamentalist challenges. Author Vaibhav Jagtap has attempted to review and analyze all these processes in Afghanistan with reference to the information and interviews received from the global community regarding education dissemination, girls'/women's educational rights and advocacy.

Adikhel province in Afghanistan is considered remote. For the past year, Habib-ur-Rahman has been running a school for little girls in her home in a remote area of rural Afghanistan, largely dominated by the Taliban. In a previous era, when the Taliban completely ruled the country before 9/11, that would have been impossible, with the radical Islamist group banning girls from formal education. But this time things are different, many social organizations received information from the villagers here.

Some of the girls at Rahman's school were actually associated with active Taliban members and, according to villagers, the insurgents had assured him that there would be no interaction with his girls' school. “Some of my students were daughters, sisters or nieces of Taliban fighters. Most of the people don't live in our village," Rahman had said while deciding on foreign policy. Most probably they are trying to hide the internal strife and strife in Pakistan. But they encouraged their relatives to come and study in my school. "

“Rahman's brother was a Taliban fighter, but he had no problem with school. "He wants me to get wisdom and education," Latifa Khushai, one of Rahman's students, told the world community at the time.

1.Even after the US-orchestrated cease-fire, clashes between the Taliban and the Afghan National Army continued outside the village, with Rahman saying he was taking precautions because he knew things would not return to the way they were. “I am proud of my work, and I know it can overcome many prejudices,” said the teacher himself, who studied in the capital of Kabul. Additionally, women were not allowed to work and could not even leave the house without a close male relative. But in fact the wrong policy was decided before the formation of the Taliban.

2.Animosity against women in urban areas was further exacerbated after the Mujahideen captured Kabul in 1992 and toppled the last communist government. Also, the whole issue has always been misused by local governments and by fundamentalism against foreign powers invading the country.

Some of Ur Rahman's students were associated with Taliban members. "My brother was a Taliban fighter. He encouraged me to go to school," Latifa Khushai told the community, a right-wing member of the Taliban regime.

This was noted in Abdul Rahman Lakhanwal Foreign Policy.

3.When the Afghan communists staged a brutal insurgency in the late 1970s, they portrayed themselves as liberators of Afghan women and emphasized the importance of education.

4.In 1970 - 88, as the Communists saw their radicalization, transformation was brought about through the purported focus of educational films and propaganda films for the development of Afghan society. Such films clearly depicted the liberation of women. Miniskirts and alcohol were featured. But at the same time many schools were closed. Among them, the total number of schools in the country was reduced and many women were tortured and killed in custody. When the Russians invaded Afghanistan, they introduced themselves as defenders of women's rights against the so-called barbaric Islamists, while many Afghan women supported the Mujahideen rebels. In 2001, when the Americans and their Western allies entered Afghanistan and proclaimed women's rights, and especially girls' education, a key objective was created.

Now to education in post-Taliban Afghanistan and the predominantly female ShAt present, the attention of the entire world community has been drawn.

After the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, Afghanistan once again became the focus of international politics. The effects of three decades of war and violence had taken a devastating toll on Afghanistan's basic infrastructure, including its economic and educational structure.
The country was in seclusion until 2001 but after the fall of the Taliban, the doors of opportunity opened for Afghans and a new era of transformation began - including socio-economic and educational reforms. Post-Taliban international political investment in Afghanistan led to generous financial and moral support from the international community to the Afghans. Billions of dollars came from donors to help the war-torn country, and with international cooperation, Afghanistan made numerous gains in key areas such as education revival, economic development, rule of law, democracy, civil liberties, and human rights.

Women's rights and health are mainly emphasized. Afghan women and girls, who had either worn the veil or refused any form of education during the Taliban regime, were once again allowed to attend schools and universities, thereby contributing to the country's development. After the fall of the Taliban, the new Afghan political leadership promised the world at the UN Bonn Conference in 2001 that it would take necessary steps to protect and revive the rights of Afghan boys and girls to education. With the passage of time, school doors were reopened once again and millions of Afghan children enrolled in educational institutions. Along with the government schools run across the country, hundreds of private schools and higher educational institutions have also been established.

Today, the revitalization of the education sector is often cited as one of the greatest achievements of the new political system in Afghanistan. However, at the same time, the education sector has faced enormous challenges in terms of quality and curriculum.
In Afghanistan, government-run schools still have a long way to go when it comes to providing access to quality education for all.

In the post-Taliban era, the Afghan government paid more attention to the quantity of education, but not to the quality of education – which made Afghanistan unable to match the education sector in neighboring countries or stand to offer the same accredited education. But there is a perception that as the private sector and social workers have entered Afghanistan's education sector, the government has also imposed the responsibilities of providing quality education on them, so such a packed open-air school and its circulating pictures are indeed comforting.

These changes have created a real benefit for children who cannot attend private schools due to poor financial conditions and benefit from a more advanced system of education. Many families in Afghanistan are willing to invest in their children's education by sending them to private institutions.

But along with public-schools, private schools also do not pay attention to the needs to some extent, which is why quality education revolution like developed and industrialized countries cannot be created here in the current state. Additionally, these schools are not regularly monitored by the government. Currently, many families want to send their children to private schools but due to poverty and financial constraints, it is not easily possible. There is no doubt that an educated Afghanistan is the only solution to the current mess in the country of Afghanistan, but for this the government needs to invest heavily in quality education and quantity education as well.

There is now a growing belief that if our children are given quality education in public schools, it will help us grow as a nation. The government should increase the supervision of public and private schools. Also the educational curriculum should be modernized so that both poor and rich are equally educated. Many believe that private schools somehow discriminate between the rich and the poor, and that such a social gap can create a sense of deprivation among gifted students who cannot afford a private education. Government and community also have to pay attention to this. A public school should be equipped with a science laboratory which is useful for scientific development. But there are no signs of such a laboratory in public schools in Afghanistan today.

Irfan is an Afghan student whose parents send him to Kabul from Mazar-e-Sharif in hopes of getting a better education.

At first he went to a public school in the capital but his family felt that he was not performing well and after two years sent him to a private school that too at high cost.
While in public school, Irfan was admitted to a private school within a year after complaining about his teachers' inattention and negativity towards teaching children, where his parents began to notice the difference in him. “There were only two lessons a week (in public school) and his teachers were bored and listening to music on their computers or using social media like Facebook.

Be busy with Yedia. During his two years in a government school, he learned only a few things,” Irfan, now in Class V in Kabul, shared his experience with the global community. “Also there was no discipline in the school. Students were also coming to class wearing sports clothes and no one raised a question about it. “But in my private school the same teachers impart good education, the teachers are very disciplined and educated. We have computer and science labs and go to lab sessions twice a week where we learn new things.

School staff and management work hard on students. We have additional subjects like Oxford System. We are also taught the subjects of Ministry of Education here. The school also houses Oxford's Maths and Science. However, many countries have committed to work towards education for all under the UN's Global Education Forum.

But the reality shows that many of the poor are still deprived of quality education. In 2000, the United Nations established the World Education Forum in Dakar where 164 nations participated. Here they agreed on the idea of Education for All (EFA) campaign. The UN World Education Forum states that the EFA movement represents a global commitment to quality basic education for all children, youth and adults. At the Dakar Platform, 164 nations pledged to achieve education for all and set goals to be achieved by 2020.

However, more than a year after the deadline, governments, development agencies, civil society and the private sector are still working together to reach these EFA goals.
Despite international cooperation to provide quality education to all children in the world, the process of providing quality education to people in poor countries like Afghanistan remains fragile. So far, most international donors, with few exceptions, have provided school bags, tents for lessons and some stationary to children in poverty-stricken and war-torn countries.

There is a need to raise this situation especially in Afghanistan with this approach. For example, there has been no survey to date to assess the education situation in villages and remote areas of Afghanistan, to know the extent to which village children, especially girls, have access to education. Although Afghanistan's education sector has seen significant change over the past 1 year, with the help of international partners, there has not been a systematic process to institutionalize or ensure access to village schools for all Afghan girls and boys to receive quality education.

So far no such decision/policy has been created under the banner of Ifa or by the Afghan government to actually exist in the country to change the radical attitude of some people in the villages towards girls' education. If we advocate education for all, we should not discriminate against girls and convince citizens that both classes need equal access to education. However, it is important to mention that corruption is also the biggest obstacle in the way of education in Afghanistan. Education Minister Asadullah Hanif Balkhi recently said that a recent survey study showed that only six million Afghan children were in school - as opposed to the 11 million the previous government had said.

This statement shows that there is little rigging of the education sector in Afghanistan which poses a serious threat to the future of these children.

The government needs to take action on such irresponsible data collection and action should be taken against those involved in corruption in the education sector.

Finally, the government should focus more on not only curbing corruption in the education sector but also improving the overall quality of education in public schools.

The government also needs to improve the quality of teachers, monitor lessons and improve the curriculum and facilities provided to students in schools - where a culture of discipline between teachers and students needs to be developed.

Never forget, the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow and the leadership qualities of such leaders will shape the future and direction of Afghanistan.

Vaibhav Jagtap
Author: Vaibhav Jagtap