Schools in Paktika Province, Afghanistan: Observations From Site Visits at 6 Schools
Abstract
The United States has made significant investments in Afghanistan's education sector since 2002. Specifically as of January 12, 2019, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) reported that it has disbursed more than $1 billion for education programs in Afghanistan. USAID's programs have concentrated on teacher training, child literacy, community-based education, textbook printing and distribution, and school construction or rehabilitation. USAID-constructed or rehabilitated schools include primary, lower secondary, and higher secondary schools; teacher training colleges; universities; kindergartens; and trade schools. USAID has claimed that the Afghan education sector is an area in which USAID programs "have contributed to measurable positive impacts on Afghanistan's development and stability." For example, in USAID's 2014 factsheet on education in Afghanistan and in response to a 2013 SIGAR request for a list of its most successful programs in Afghanistan, USAID cited an increased student enrollment from 900,000 students in 2002 to 8 million in 2013 as evidence of overall progress in the sector. Nevertheless, concerns with the Afghan education system have received attention at the highest levels of the Afghan government. The Afghan Minister of Education, Dr. Asadullah Hanif Balkhi, told parliament in May 2015, that nonexistent schools received funding and noted that the ministry's Education Management Information System, used for tracking the number of functioning schools, is imprecise. Similarly, in June 2015, the Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) reported that "ghost" teachers have been a long-standing problem, and in most provinces, including Paktika, teacher attendance sheets are not filled out or are frequently forged.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1137756
Entities
People
- John Sopko
Organizations
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction