EDUCATIONEducation and Afghan Society in the twentieth century
At the moment when the United Nations and the international community begin to reflect on the reconstruction and the future development of Afghanistan, it might be useful to remind ourselves that international cooperation has for more than fifty years accompanied the development of almost all sectors of the Afghan society.
This is particularly true for the development of a modern education system with which UNESCO was closely associated. In fact, the first UNESCO mission went to Afghanistan in 1949. In the 1960s and 1970s the Organization, together with other multi-lateral and bilateral cooperation agencies, assisted in the development of several major projects related to educational planning, teacher training, primary education and adult education.
In the 1990s, following the Jomtien Conference, UNESCO promoted the new concept of basic education, which was applied inter alia in a number of new “Village Basic Education Centres” established in the rural communities of Afghanistan. In cooperation with the BBC, UNESCO also launched educational radio programmes and the publication of basic reading materials. In 1999, in the context of the EFA 2000 Assessment, a joint UNDP/UNESCO Report on Education for All in Afghanistan was prepared.
Unfortunately, war and disruption of the Afghan society during the past two decades serious hampered educational development. A large segment of the Afghan population, children, young people and adults alike, has no access to basic education and training. The education of girls has particularly suffered during the past few years, due to the discrimi-natory policies of the ruling authorities. The majority of teachers are untrained and there are serious shortages of textbooks, teaching materials and other educational facilities. To promote and deliver “Education for All” as stipulated by the Dakar Framework for Action, national goals and strategies need to be established, human and material resources mobi-lized, and innovative methods, including the use of new technologies, considered. The quality and relevance of education and the development of shared values, particularly respect for ethnic diversity and a culture of peace, will be crucial for Afghan children and youth. For a society which for more than two decades experienced ethnic and ideological conflict, education and training will be one of the pillars on which to build the future.
Education and Afghan Society in the Twentieth Century traces and analyses the development of modern education in Afghanistan, reflecting the changing political, social and cultural policies in the country. The author, Saif R. Samady, is a distinguished Afghan educator who was involved in education development in Afghanistan (1958-1971) in different capacities, including as First Deputy Minister of Education. For more than two decades he worked at the international level as senior official in the Education Sector of UNESCO (1971-1991), and lately as an international education consultant.I hope that his document on the historical development of modern education in Afghanistan and the lessons learned from that experience will serve as reference for the national authorities concerned, as well as for relevant agencies, non-governmental organizations and other potential partners in the international community. I commend the document to all those interested in the educational development of Afghanistan, historians, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners in education.
