A Current Issue of Global Concern

A Current Issue of Global link The Significance of cultivation for Peace and Stability in sheepskin coatistan Over 30 years of war and instability have ruined the root word of all in all spheres of afghan life. nurture has probably been the sector that has sustained the well-nigh end in Afghaniistan. Educating the Afghan populace especially the young generation is a critical facet toward engendering enduring peace and stability, alleviating endemic p all overty, and resuscitating economic maturation in the country.From this writers in the flesh(predicate) aw atomic number 18ness, in Afghanistan immediately most schools lack becoming teaching facilities and materials (apart from the usual facilities this would include latest program library holdings, computerized language labs, computer labs and so on . But perhaps most important of all in Afghanistan at that place is a critical shortage of qualified teachers. Teachers with current qualifications reflective of th ose which would be demanded, at a minimum, in neighboring states let al angiotensin converting enzyme the rest of the introduction.Beyond the issue of availability of adequate bringing upal chance however, the studyal crisis in Afghanistan is raise acerbated by societal circumstances. This writer is accredited most readers bequeath be aware of the circumstances which prevail in Afghanistan notwithstanding, according to a report by Surgar (2011), Afghan parents are hoi polloih to send their children to school buildings which beca subroutine the populace is aware of the grim inadequacy of the educate facilities are strikingly empty of activity and children.The Surgar report underpins this writers own research on the ground in that it reveals that the quality of Afghan education is low and in most cases a striking non-existence of textbooks and of proper curricula and syllabi is evident. A nonher issue that has a bearing but which has not judge prominently in discussio ns nearly the re-engineering of the Afghan educational system relates to the socio-cultural solidus that many another(prenominal) Afghans have toward the education of female persons, especially in the orthodox and strange areas of the country.This is another quarrel that the Afghan organization needs to wrestle with. harmonise to a report by the United Nations Childrens Fund the disparity between the enrollment (at schools offering blush the most basic educational facilities) of girls and boys is enormous. In 2009 the enrolment of young Afghan girls constituted only 35% of the total primary school enrollments (UNICEF, 2009). This percentage swells in some farming(prenominal) provinces in the south of the country such as in Zabul Province. collect to growing instability 90 out of 100 girls are not in schools in that province.As an average only 50% of all children catch shoal in Afghanistan (IRIN, 2011). Beyond primeval School education in Afghanistan today there are o ther significant education tie in challenges that need to be addressed. Among them is the desperate circumstance surrounding availability of higher(prenominal) education opportunities (certificate, diploma and degree programmes) for those Afghans who have actually made the difficult, and sometimes perilous, journey through early school to qualify with a naughty School qualification.Part of the issue is an epidemic of despair that, for those who complete early schooling high school and do not have the resources to proceed further with their education, there are virtually no employment opportunities upon graduation. This situation, obviously, only lends to the prejudicious environment of thought that education does not do anything to better ones lot in life. Further looming education related problems continue to surface in Afghanistan. According to the Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan (2010), the number of high school graduates will reach 600,000 students by 2014.These are young eager Afghans on the border of adulthood who should be able to look to their own country for the readying of further, higher education opportunities with which to prepare themselves to compete in a world filled with others of their own age who are forging ahead gird with modern further education qualifications. Under normal circumstances the fractional a one thousand million or more than Afghans who will seek adit to college or university should not if proper strategic planning had been evident if the regimeal will had been evident have been a problem. Unfortunately such is not the case in Afghanistan.As of this time of writing in January 2011 the currently active public and private universities do not have the capacity to fill in with such a huge number of potential new applicants (MoHE, 2010). Although, the Afghan establishment sponsors higher education of some Afghan students by send them to countries such as the United State and India, in a nut-shell th is election is disastrously expensive for Afghanistan, and, in most cases, futile. Most Afghan students canvas abroad upon earning whatever qualification they had sought often do not return to Afghanistan after completion of their education.This writer is personally aware that many seek asylum in the host countries (personal research, 2010). Despite the fact that since the down make pass of Taliban in 2001 the Afghan education sector has according to the countrys Ministry of Education witnessed substantial progress in, for instance, the amount of overall enrolment in some form of educational pursuit (7 million), the training of teachers, and the construction of over 4,500 schools (Afghanistan Ministry of Education, 2010) Afghanistan sustains the highest illiteracy rates in the world for both men and women.More than 11 million Afghans over the age of 15 still cannot read or write. In rural areas, where the majority of Afghans live, 90 percent of the women and more than 60 p ercent of the men are illiterate (REAC, 2010). This situation has created a absolute opportunity for the opposition of the Afghan disposal to exploit the unawareness of the locals and use them for political and personal agendas (Time, 2010). It is this writers strongly-held personal belief that Education has a pivotal impact on peace and stability.If the Afghan government and the inter home(a) community which spends billions in Afghanistan facing the resistance militarily neediness to bring peace and security to Afghanistan, they must play a strong, substantiating role in pressing the Afghan governance to focus upon educating Afghans. In essence there needs to be a sea-change in the oftentimes promulgated strategies we fall victim to so often from supposed experts. The requirement need is that there MUST be longer and better educational opportunities inside the country.It is patently obvious that in this vital period of national re-building the authorities have many other vital imperatives to address. Hospitals, transportation infrastructure, etc. But in ignoring the countrys precious resource its young.. its spring chicken and their education Afghanistan is breeding further problems. The high rate of unemployment and crisis-level lack of availability of opportunities to higher educational institutions simply means more foot soldiers for the enemy (Associated Content, 2007).The opposition fighting in Afghanistan easily recruits disaffected, disgruntled, under-educated, and under-utilized young Afghans and uses them against the Afghan government and coalition forces. Even the encouraging strides to provide more schools, colleges and universities, made by the Afghan education authorities are, to this writer, in fitting. Far too often (public, state-funded) Universities from the union countries float into Afghanistan and enter into arrangements with local government universities.This is not necessarily what is needed. The Afghan Education authoritie s should not in this era of resuscitation try to go it alone. They should encourage private higher educational organizations who may be more apt to develop genuine long-term relations given their personal investment not garnered from government coffers to invest in the country to move over degree programmes in discipline areas which will train Afghans to take their perspective in the global arenas of business, commerce, international trade, international relations, and leadership.The Afghan Education authorities should encourage international private education entities to invest in the nation and its people by making the currently extraordinarily- difficult approval butt on much leaner and rational. As the new school year be draws in Afghanistan, The Human Rights Research and advocacy Consortium (HRRAC) released Report Card bestride on Compulsory Education. The new report urges policymakers to work harder to address imperative and long term education needs in the country . Oxfam International is one of the Consortium members.The report card (for grades 1-9) recognizes that Afghanistan has made progress in enrollment, but finds key gaps in school completion rates, policy management, quality of education and available resources. * Despite the increase in school enrollment, more than half of Afghanistans children dont attend primary school. Less than 34% of those enrolled are girls. * Drop-out rates are high, crabbedly among girls. Of those attending primary school, only 9% go on to secondary school. * Female teachers are scarce. In one province there is one female teacher for every 152 male teachers.Increasing the number of female teachers is essential to increase the enrollment of girls. HRRAC recommends that international donors honor their commitments to provide sufficient and long-term funding for Afghanistan and ensure adequate steps are interpreted to increase the enrollment of girls and improve the quality of education. The Human Rights Resea rch and Advocacy Consortium is a group of Afghan and international organizations working in the fields of humanityitarian relief, reconstruction, human and womens rights, peace promotion, research, and advocacy.It was established in early 2003 to engage in proactive research and advocacy on human rights issues over a sustained period. Opposition within Afghanistan to girls participation in education predates the Taliban. Historically, education for girls was rare in rural Afghanistan and almost altogether confined to the capital. In 1919 King Amanullah seized the Afghan throne and began a speedy development of the countrys secular education system, with a particular focus on expanding education for women.During this period shortly following independency from Britain, women and girls were encouraged in their scholarly pursuits. This shift, however, dreadfulctly threatened the centuries-old practice of conventional male-oriented madrassa ( spiritual) education among many of the et hnic tribes in Afghanistan. Amanullahs experiment with a secular approach to education, along with other reforms prohibiting polygamy and bride price the provision of bullion to the wifes family upon marriage aroused protest from the countrys religious establishment, who eventually supported the overthrow of the king.Nadir Shah, who took power following Amanullah, was more cautious in his attempt to introduce educational opportunities for women. Nevertheless, over the drift of the twentieth century, and in particular during King Mohammed Zahirs long curb between 1933 and 1973, Afghanistans education system steadily expand even as it continued to be influenced by demands from the countrys conservative cultural and religious authorities. By the 1970s, women made up over 60 percent of the 10,000 students who studied at Kabul University.The rise of the Soviet-backed Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan in 1978 brought large-scale literacy programs for men and women, again on boa rd the abolition of bride price and other reforms beneficial to women. During this period leading up the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, reforms in areas such as education move resentment among religious and tribal leaders in the rural areas. Although near implementation of these reforms were limited by political exigencies, women were able to experience expanded access to education and also the opportunity to actively participate as university faculty staff.During the Soviet occupation from 1979 to 1989, Afghans lived through a devastating war fueled by external forces and funding from multiple countries, among them the United States, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and China. Islamic militants, or Mujahideen, thrived in rural areas and constructed their own revolutionary armament with the goal of overturning all socialist policies such as those governing womens rights in general, and access education in particular. With the fall of the Communist government in 992, the country was divided among warring factions, many of them religiously inspired Mujahideen groups ideologically opposed to modern education and to education for girls. Millions of Afghans, peculiarly the educated, emigrated to other countries. Many of the schools not destroyed by war were closed due to lack of security, the lack of teachers and teaching material, or simply because of dire poverty. Education under the Taliban went from bad to worse. The Taliban focused solely on religious studies for boys and denied nearly all girls the right to attend school.During the Talibans rule, only about 3 per cent of girls received some form of primary education. The breastwork of female education, coupled with the cultural mandate that women receive their health reverence from female health care providers, resulted in a vulnerable tribe receiving care from poorly-educated providers. Twenty-three years of war have destroyed the infrastructure of the education system and further increased the illi teracy rate in Afghanistan. Since 2001, the participation of children and adults in education has improved dramatically and there is great demand.Afghanistan has one of the youngest commonwealths on the planet. Unexpectedly large numbers showed up when schools reopened in 2002, and enrollments have increased every year since, with the Ministry of Education reporting that 5. 2 million students were enrolled in grades one through twelve in 2005. This includes an estimated 1. 82-1. 95 million girls and women. An additional 55,500-57,000 people, including 4,000-5,000 girls and women, were enrolled in vocational, Islamic, and teacher education programs, and 1. 24 million people were enrolled in non-formal education programs.These numbers represent a peculiar improvement from the Taliban era. More Afghan children are in school today than at any other period in Afghanistans history. In 2003, in response to the lack of educational opportunities in Afghanistan for the general population an d especially for females, the United States Agency for International Development funded the Afghanistan Primary Education Program (APEP). APEP offers emergency access to accelerated elementary education for out-of-school youth between 10 and 18 years of age, focusing on females.Between 2003 and 2005, APEP supported accelerated learning programs for 170,000 over-age youth in more than 3,000 villages in Afghanistan. Located at Kabul University, the Womens Teacher Training bring opened in September 2004. The institute is currently operating programs that incur to teach basic literacy to Afghan women in rural areas and to reduce paternal and child mortality. Despite numerous positive steps forward in education for Afghan women and girls, persistent violent attacks on schools by renascent Taliban and other forces continue to force some schools to close.In a statement released in June 2006, Ret. U. S. Gen. Barry McCaffrey stressed the comparative superiority of the Talibans equipment and tactics to those of the NATO-trained Afghan bailiwick Army (ANA). They are brutalizing the population, wrote McCaffrey of the Taliban, and they are now conducting a summer-fall campaign to box NATO out of the war, capture the provincial capital of Kandahar, isolate the Americans, stop the exploitation Afghan educational system, stop the liberation of women, and penetrate the new guard force and ANA. Summary AIL works to empower Afghans by expanding their educational and health opportunitites and by fostering self-reliance and community participation. What is the issue, problem, or challenge? Afghan women and children had no access to education for a decade. After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the Afghan Institute of attainment organized Educational Learning Centers (ELCs) to bring women life-saving healthcare and education. AIL helps local leaders start ELCs and find where and what services to offer.AIL has requests for ELCs from many communities that have not historical ly been open to education for women. AIL now supports 44 ELCs in Afghanistan and refugee camps of Pakistan. How will this project assoil this problem? AILs ELCs serve 350,000 women and children each year with checkup and reproductive healthcare, health education, skills training, teacher training, leadership/human rights socio-economic classes, pre-school through post-secondary education, and stiff track classes. Potential Long Term ImpactBecause AIL is run by Afghan women and respectful of Afghan culture, conservative villages trust AIL to begin services for thousands of isolated women in dire need. Other NGOs and the Afghan government now use this model for womens services. Project Message Our eye are opened. Now we can read and write. Actually, now we have come to know the value of an educated person in a society. We give thanks AIL for enlightening rural areas with the lights of education. Salma, woman in a literacy class in a rural ELC