issues for consideration at the berlin donor conference ... - ReliefWeb

8 THE ROAD AHEAD
Economic realities
The abysmal Afghan economy affects the education sector in at least two ways. First, a large sector
of the population requires vocational training in order to rejoin the workforce. Before the rise of
the Taliban, Afghanistan had a technical and vocational educational system, but presently there are
no government ministries or NGOs responsible for training vocational education teachers. 43
Second, economic considerations have deterred parents from sending children to school, preferring
instead to put them to work to supplement household income. This will be an important factor to
consider as the government undertakes to enroll millions more children in the coming years.
Challenges Ahead
In recognition of the need to capitalize on the enthusiasm for education in this post-Taliban phase,
the Afghan government has developed creative short-term solutions to accommodate all the new
students in the primary and secondary levels.
• Tents and rented buildings are being used in lieu of proper schoolhouses.
• Classes are being held in shifts, and contract teachers who do not satisfy the usual
qualifications are being used as an interim measure. 44
• The international community has been funding an effort for more sustainable infrastructure,
by constructing new schools. 45
• The government has requested $41 million for the upcoming year, to fund 17 projects to
rehabilitate Ministry buildings and other education centers for 2004-2005. (It is worth
noting that in the 2003 budget year, the government requested $104 million from
international donors for this need, but received only $2.1 million.)
Still, the government’s programs fall short in several areas.
First, the Afghan government must prioritize increasing the number of teachers. Thus far, the government has
called for a strategy of a fiscally disciplined education budget including increased, competitive, but
affordable salaries for teachers. 46 The national development budget includes requests for the
rehabilitation of teacher training colleges and the creation of new colleges. It requests $3.3 million
for teacher development. 47 Building and rehabilitating teacher training schools is an important
element of improving education. As “Securing Afghanistan’s Future” notes, however, investment in
infrastructure “cannot outrun capacity,” 48 and the number of teachers already lags behind the
number of schools. Without economic incentives, teachers will not be convinced to return to
Afghanistan, become teachers, and remain in the education sector.
Second, the government and international donors should build on successful community-based education models. One
of the most successful examples of non-traditional education coping mechanisms is informal classes
held in villagers' homes. Studies have shown that students in these informal classes perform as well
43 Asian Development Bank report.
44 Education Technical Annex.
45 National Development Budget.
46 Education Technical Annex.
47 National Development Budget.
48 Education Technical Annex.