Education Duration In Afghanistan: Unraveling The Mystery Of Schooling Years

Afghanistan's education system has been devastated by over three decades of conflict. The country's children, especially girls, face numerous challenges in accessing education. In 2021, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan banned girls from secondary education, and in 2022, from university education. The Taliban's interpretation of Sharia law, which requires women to be accompanied by a male relative when in public, has resulted in the firing of female teachers, further hindering girls' education. In addition to insecurity, traditional societal norms and practices related to women's roles also contribute to low girls' enrolment. Geographical barriers, a lack of schools, and insufficient transportation are further obstacles. Despite these challenges, efforts are being made to improve access to education, with UNICEF working to establish community-based schools and accelerated learning centres within a close range of each child's community.

The impact of the Taliban on education in Afghanistan

Afghanistan's education system has been devastated by over three decades of sustained conflict. The Taliban's actions have had a profound impact on education in the country, particularly for girls and women.

The Impact of the Taliban on Girls' and Women's Education

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, they have banned girls and women from accessing secondary and higher education. This has reversed the gains made in recent years, where millions of girls were attending school, compared to almost none under the previous Taliban regime. The Taliban's policies have set back hard-won advances in educational access and have been met with international condemnation.

In some areas under Taliban control, girls are barred from attending school altogether. In other districts, girls are only allowed to access education up to a certain age, typically around 12 years old. This has disrupted the education of millions of girls and has been a source of conflict between rural and urban communities, with urban elites championing schooling as a force of modernisation and economic prosperity.

The Taliban's justifications for these bans often centre around the notion that girls' education is a mechanism to undermine religious and cultural identities, promoting Western values and repressing Islam and Afghan cultural identity. The Taliban leadership also views the issue of girls' education as political leverage with the international community, using it to maintain their hard-line image domestically.

The Impact of the Taliban on Boys' Education

The Taliban's policies have also negatively impacted boys' education in Afghanistan, although this has received less attention globally. The ban on female teachers has left a significant gap in the education system, often resulting in unqualified male teachers or no teachers at all. This has disrupted the education of many boys and left them with reduced access to learning, particularly in certain subjects.

The curriculum in many schools has also been revised to remove important subjects such as art, sports, English, and civic education and replace them with additional hours dedicated to religious studies. This has contributed to a decline in educational quality and attendance rates, as students are discouraged from attending school.

Broader Impacts on the Education System

The Taliban's actions have also had broader impacts on the education system as a whole. There is a lack of schools and educational infrastructure in the country, with many schools lacking proper sanitation facilities, boundary walls, water, and toilets. This disproportionately affects girls' enrolment and attendance.

Additionally, the Taliban's policies have limited the mobility of female teachers and students, requiring them to be accompanied by a male relative when travelling. This has further disrupted the education of girls and women and reinforced gender stereotypes.

The Taliban's policies and actions have caused "irreversible damage" to Afghanistan's education system, harming both boys and girls and risking the creation of a lost generation deprived of a quality education.

The number of girls in education in Afghanistan

Afghanistan's education system has been devastated by more than three decades of sustained conflict. For many of the country's children, completing primary school remains a distant dream, especially in rural areas and for girls. An estimated 3.7 million children are out of school in Afghanistan, and 60% of them are girls.

In the poorest and most remote areas of the country, enrolment levels vary, and girls still lack equal access. The underlying reasons for low girls' enrolment are insecurity and traditional norms and practices related to girls' and women's roles in society. Other reasons include a lack of female teachers, especially in rural schools. Only 16% of Afghanistan's schools are girls-only, and many of them lack proper sanitation facilities, which further hinders attendance. Geographical barriers, especially in mountainous areas, also make it hard for children to reach classrooms.

In some parts of the country, a shortage of schools and insufficient transportation are the main obstacles to education. Once children do make it to school, they often receive a lower quality of education because only 48% of their teachers have the minimum academic qualifications.

The socio-political and humanitarian crises that Afghanistan faces critically affect its fragile education system. Natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and landslides exacerbate the situation for all children. These factors raise parental concerns about safety and can prevent them from sending their children to school.

Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, they have banned girls from secondary education. Some provinces still allow secondary education for girls despite the ban. In December 2022, the Taliban government also prohibited university education for females in Afghanistan, sparking protests and international condemnation.

Before the Taliban takeover, 3.7 million children were out of school, most of them girls. Since then, the regime has banned an additional 1,254,473 Afghan girls from attending secondary school.

Girls' education has often been highlighted as a success story by donors and the Afghan government, and millions more girls are in school today than were under Taliban rule. However, the stated aim of getting all girls into school is far from being realised, and the proportion of students who are girls is now falling in parts of the country.

Despite the many challenges, there have been some positive developments in girls' education in Afghanistan. For example, the Malala Fund has invested close to $1.9 million in local organisations to improve Afghan girls' access to free, safe, and quality education. Additionally, UNICEF has worked with the government and partners for decades to increase the number of children going to school, with a focus on enrolling and retaining the most vulnerable children, specifically those who are out of school and girls.

The quality of education in Afghanistan

Afghanistan's education system has been devastated by over three decades of conflict. The country's educational institutions have been directly affected by violence during two decades of war. As a result of airstrikes, shelling, and the use of improvised explosive devices, schools have been damaged, and teachers and students have been injured or killed.

In 2012, there was a shortage of qualified teachers in Afghanistan. According to the Ministry of Education, 80% of the country's 165,000 teachers had achieved the equivalent of a high school education or had not completed their post-secondary studies. The lack of qualified teachers is a significant issue in Afghanistan's education system, and it is especially pronounced in rural areas.

In addition to the lack of qualified educators, the current Taliban government has imposed restrictions on female teachers, inhibiting them from participating in the education system. This regulation is based on the Islamic interpretation of Sharia law, which requires women to be accompanied by a male relative when in public. As a result of these restrictions, female students may feel uncomfortable attending educational institutions, and gender stereotypes that characterise women as sensitive and weak are reinforced.

The Taliban has also imposed restrictions on girls' and women's access to education. Soon after the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021, they banned girls from secondary education and prohibited women from attending universities. However, some provinces, including Balkh, Kunduz, and Sar-I-Pul, have continued to allow girls to attend school despite the ban.

In addition to the direct impact of violence on schools, the socio-political and humanitarian crises in Afghanistan have also affected the education system. Natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and landslides have exacerbated the situation, raising parental concerns about safety and preventing them from sending their children to school. The economic crisis in Afghanistan has also hindered efforts to expand infrastructure and train teachers.

To improve the quality of education in Afghanistan, UNICEF and the Ministry of Education are working together to develop a National Assessment Framework for the primary education system, linked to a national qualification framework. UNICEF is also advocating for the integration of community-based education into the government's school system, as this would provide a lifeline for many girls who cannot access government schools.

Furthermore, to address the shortage of qualified teachers, USAID has provided two-year scholarships to nearly 11,500 women, enabling them to attend teacher training colleges.

Despite these efforts, significant challenges remain. The Taliban's policies on education are unclear, and there is a lack of dialogue and coordination among national and international stakeholders. Additionally, the education system continues to face funding shortages, and the recent banking crisis in Afghanistan has complicated external funding for education budgets.

The safety of schools in Afghanistan

The Taliban has been known to occupy schools in Afghanistan, with one incident in 2010 resulting in the deaths of seven policemen. The Taliban has also been known to threaten schools, with one school in Baghlan province being threatened by the Taliban in 2015.

The Taliban's use of schools as bases during military operations in Taliban-held areas has put children at risk and deprived thousands of an education. The Afghan government should take immediate steps to curtail security force use of schools for military purposes.

The future of education in Afghanistan

The Taliban's restrictions on girls' education and women's access to work have sparked protests and international condemnation. The Taliban first banned girls from secondary education and, in December 2022, they prohibited women from attending universities, denying higher education to more than 100,000 women. The Taliban has also banned women from working for international and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and later expanded this ban to include the United Nations. These restrictions are expected to exacerbate poverty and worsen the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Despite these setbacks, there are some signs of hope. In late 2023, the United Nations was investigating claims that Afghan girls of all ages were allowed to study at religious schools. Additionally, the Taliban has shown some willingness to adjust its policies due to international pressure and the need to curry favor with the local population. For example, at the end of 2022, the Taliban and UNICEF reached an agreement for the Taliban to open thousands of informal schools, providing elementary education for both boys and girls.

The international community has a crucial role to play in protecting the right to education for all Afghans, especially girls and women. UNESCO has developed the Multi-Country Preparedness and Response Plan (MCPRP) to address both immediate and medium-term education needs in Afghanistan. They are focusing on concrete activities such as providing community-based literacy classes, supporting teacher training, monitoring access to higher education, and developing learning assessment frameworks.

Digital transformation in higher education could also be a promising avenue for the future of education in Afghanistan. By connecting Afghan educators to global online learning initiatives, it may be possible to create safe and effective avenues for employment in the education sector, particularly for female teachers.

While the future of education in Afghanistan remains uncertain, it is clear that continued efforts and support from the international community are essential to ensuring that the gains made over the past two decades are not lost and that all Afghans, regardless of gender, have access to quality education.

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