Press
Release No.2002-106
REVITALIZING EDUCATION THE KEY
TO AFGHANISTAN'S FUTURE
Paris, December 23 - According
to education authorities in Afghanistan, some one and a half million
school-age children cannot attend classes because there are not
enough schools or teachers for them. This situation poses a direct
threat to the country's fragile peace process and reconstruction,
warned members of the Afghan High Commission on Education at the
close of their week-long inaugural meeting at UNESCO's Paris Headquarters
on Saturday (Dec. 21).
The High Commission, set up on
the initiative of the President of the Transitional Islamic State
of Afghanistan, Hamid Kharzai, and supported by UNESCO, is made
up of 23 members, including education authorities from Afghanistan,
and leading Afghan education experts who live abroad. They're
responsible for preparing a blueprint for the long-term reconstruction
of the country's education system, which is considered critical
for Afghanistan's future development and prosperity.
Congratulating President Kharzai
for establishing the Commission, UNESCO Director-General, Koïchiro
Matsuura, stressed that "what is now needed is a basic vision
of where Afghan education goes from here. In particular, what
kind of education is needed for what kind of Afghanistan? The
answer to this question [... ] rests in the hands of the Afghans
themselves."
Over the next six months, the Commission
will identify the country's immediate needs and problems in this
domain; formulate proposals for education objectives, policy and
development strategies for the revival of education in Afghanistan
and how these should be enshrined in the new Constitution; suggest
ways and means of achieving these goals; and offer guidance on
immediate and long-term funding. The Commission will present its
work to the Afghan authorities in Kabul next May.
Their task is an urgent one, said
Mohammad Younus Qanooni, the Minister of Education of the Transitional
Islamic State of Afghanistan, at the start of the meeting. "Demand
for education is exploding - at primary, secondary and tertiary
levels. We cannot risk disappointing or leaving these children
of the war generation out of the system. They're already vulnerable
and traumatised. Yet from their ranks will come tomorrow's leaders,"
the Minister said.
Despite a massive effort to kick-start
education, and remarkable progress in a very short period, the
school system is in tatters, Mr Qanooni told the Commission, adding
that more than 70 percent of the country's educational infrastructure
has been destroyed. Of the 5,063 existing school buildings, some
3,525 need major repairs. Many schools have no drinking water,
electricity or sanitation. Classes are held on footpaths, in tents
and under trees, but with the onset of winter even these spaces
become unusable. Over the past year, three million children have
been attending schools. The Minister estimates that another one
million will seek enrollment when the 2003 school year starts
next March.
At the tertiary level, 24,000
students were enrolled this year, but this figure could rise to
40,000 following university entrance examinations to be conducted
within the next few weeks. But, said Mohammad Sharif Fayez, the
Minister for Higher Education, "there is no capacity to absorb
them." He warned that this could lead to an explosive situation.
"These young people have grown up seeing guns and bombs used
as solutions. We must show them that there is another way and
provide them with the opportunities to build another future. In
this regard, revitalizing higher education is key to what will
happen in and to Afghanistan," he said.
While stressing that infrastructure
was an "absolute priority", Mr Fayez also pointed to
the vital need to build up the skills and expertise needed at
all levels of education, from managers to trainers of teachers,
which is the focus of much of UNESCO's effort in Afghanistan.
Professional debate and exchange between Afghan intellectuals
and experts living abroad and the national authorities was the
best way of identifying and seeking solutions to the issues facing
the Afghan nation, President Karzai said in a message to the Commission.
For its part, UNESCO will finance
the Commission's secretariat in Kabul until the completion of
its work next May. Mr Matsuura called on the international community
to provide the financial, technical and material support needed
to rebuild and expand education in Afghanistan. "An educated
nation will always have a future" he said.
****
Contact
Sue Williams
Bureau of Public Information, Editorial Section
Tel: (+33) (0)1 45 68 17 06
Email: s.williams@unesco.org
