EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Afghanistan illustrates how a country emerging from decades of war and in a continued state of conflict has, together with its donors, a will to prioritize education. It is a success story in increased availability of and participation in education, girls included. This case study, however, documents the challenges of building up a management structure to handle such a progression in order to ensure the collection of accurate data for reporting and planning, the training and development of a sufficient number of qualified teachers, and the provision of monitoring, evaluation, and assessment of the quality of education.
The Afghan Ministry of Education estimates that there are presently 8.35 million students (39% of which are girls) in primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary government schools, including Islamic schooling, out of a school-aged population of 10.33 million. However, 3.3 million children, the majority of which are girls, are still out of school. The share of the population that is 25 years or older and has completed any level of formal education is less than 7% for men and 3% for women.
The major inequities in the Afghan education system include gender, geographic location, and language. Afghanistan has the highest level of gender disparity in primary education in the world, with only 71 girls in primary school for every 100 boys.Only 21% of girls complete primary education, with cultural barriers, such as early marriages, and a lack of female teachers being two of the main obstacles. There are also major differences in enrollment between rural and urban areas.
The Afghan education sector is confronted with numerous bottlenecks. Issues of supply include insecurity, limited human resources, infrastructure, teachers and teacher training, and teaching materials, while issues of demand side include economic factors, cultural barriers, and governance and capacity.
Afghanistan is presently the world’s second largest recipient of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and dependent on external donors to maintain and develop their education sector. A noted concern is the expected reduction in external funding and the ensuing ability of the Afghan government to maintain their own revenue generation. The majority of donors channel their funding for education through the World Bank administrated Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund and the Education Quality Improvement Project. Afghanistan has joined the Global Partnership for Education. Private sector contributions are virtually non-existent.
There are a number of opportunities for action in the education sector, particularly to increase education for girls and increase the quality of the education. Among the recommendations are to strengthen and develop teacher training, increase the number of qualified teachers, and assess if and how the NGOs and CBOs might take on a larger role.
It is equally important to strengthen the MOE, specifically data and coordination efforts, to create mechanisms for competency-based hiring, improve the system for collecting and handling education data, and strengthen linkages and collaborations with other Ministries.
The Government of Afghanistan and donors are advised to explore any possibility for more girls to attend and stay in school. The government is advised to communicate transparently with donors on achievements and challenges to gain and maintain trust.
The Government of Afghanistan is recommended to build a domestic resources and support base, advocate the Afghan Parliament for the continued prioritization of funding for education in upcoming Afghan budgets, find ways to tap into private sector funds, and ensure a dialogue with local communities on their role in resource mobilization and support for education.