23259 December 1999 World Sank WorkshQps Noveme10.99 ;lsicwmobad December 13, 1999 * 477 tUod4 Bonh US. Telephoqe. Z21)247-1234 kcsf:ind; 20.'477-63VI? TeIe)q MCI 6145W WRt 8ANI% CobIe Atftross, tNT0Rf*ID: WASHlIN&TONiXc WorkJ Wkie W#b: httpllwww.woddbonk.org U~~~~torkshps jointly Spons*rd 4; Tho World 8On!k ContOtts: Zito .u lt0bg resvi S fi th Chlken SR) Anhne Ik4fIL Swedisai COMiWtttoe for Rfghan)ston Domican Zimfmermonn ____ UNKE(F Table of Contents Introduction by John W. Wall, Country Director ................................ ..................... 3 Education for Afghans: "What Can be Done?" .......................................................... 4 November 10, 1999-The World Bank Country Office-Islamabad Workshop Minutes Education for Afghans ......................................................... 22 December 13,1999-Washington, DC Opening Remarks by Mieko Nishimizu, Vice President, South Asia Region Abbreviations Minutes Washington Conference Participation List and Contact Information Today Article .......................................................... 47 December 16, 1999 1 .E. EDUCATION FOR AFGHANS lL~~~~~~~~~~A ~ Dear Colleagues: In November of last year I was pleased to open the workshop on Education for Afghans in Islamabad, jointly sponsored by the World Bank, Save the Children (USA), Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, and UNICEF, and held in collaboration with a wide range of donors and NGOs active in Afghanistan. The workshop provided us with an opportunity to discuss the immense challenges that we face in working to rebuild and strengthen the human resource capacity of Afghanistan. The Islamabad workshop was followed by an equally useful gathering in Washington DC, that enabled us to reach a wider audience and gather further perspectives on how to address an education system in crisis. This booklet provides a record, prepared by Save the Children (USA) and the World Bank (in Washington), of the discussions that were held in these two workshops. In any such record it is difficult to capture everything that was said and I apologize for any absences or mistakes we have made. We have not attempted to summarize or draw conclusions from the discussions but have left it to you, the partici- pants, to draw on this record for further understanding of the complex and urgent situation we face in Afghanistan. The likely future for Afghanistanis young people remains unsure. What is clear is that rebuilding a peaceful and prosperous future is going to be exceptionally difficult without significant attention to the education of Afghanistanis people. Education is at the heart of our efforts to eradicate poverty. Providing young people with the opportunity to have an educational experience that equips them with the skills and judgement necessary to ensure their own peaceful and prosperous future is something we must all strive for. In Afghanistan we can only look forward to a possibility of peace and the huge challenges that Afghanistanis people will face in rebuilding their society. While there is little we can accomplish in present circumstances, we need to prepare for a happier day now. We who are committed to a better future for Afghanistan are looking for opportunities to collaborate and assist when we can; and build our understanding of what is going to be necessary for the future by working together to improve and share knowledge and experiences. These two workshops have been an important step on this path and we look forward to further such workshops. A key challenge raised by these workshops, for those of us in the assistance community, is to ensure that education remains at the top of our priorities in looking at rehabilitation and reconstruction demands that are going to face Afghanistan in the future. In addition, we must continue to look for opportunities both within and outside the country in innovative ways to address the clear emergency in education. I would like to express special thanks to the many people who were involved in organizing the workshops and preparing materials, and especially to our partners, Save the Children (USA), Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, and UNICEF. Our collaboration in these events reflects the commitment we all share to seeing a peaceful and secure future for Afghanistan, and is an example of the cooperation we look forward to in other regions of the world. John W. Wall Country Director Pakistan & Afghanistan South Asia Region 3 .. EDUCATION FOR AFGHANS Education for Rfghans: What Can be Done? November 10, 1999 The World Bank Country Office - Islamabad Workshop Minutes Situation Analysis (Chaired by Anders Fange, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (S CA)) Opening Remarks: John Wall, Director, World Bank Mr. Wall expressed his appreciation to all the participants for their attendance and thanked UNICEF, Save the Children/USA and the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan for their help in organizing the meeting. He has had a long interest in Afghanistan. He emphasized how the highest return on investment socially is education, double if it is girls' education. He looked forward to the day of representative govemment in Afghanistan which can manage its educa- tion system. In preparation for that day, he expressed his gladness that this meeting was being held. Historical Background: Nancy Dupree, Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief Information Center (ARIC) Ms. Dupree said she was honored to speak. She presented a similar paper in April 1988 to many of the same people, so gave the highlights. She said that there are three important legacies that influence education today, two posi- tive and one negative: a) Close bonds forged during many years between students and masters. Loyalties are still strong and we should build on this. Teachers should be encouraged to see themselves as leaders. b) A great respect exists for the learned and for books. c) There is a great dependency on rote memorization. Rigid adherence to prescribed text- books discourages curiosity and is very debilitating for the whole system. However there are some glimmers of positive inroads into this problem. At the end of the nineteenth century, secular education was introduced with the purpose of building a strong centralized state. The authorities broke the traditional religious hold on education so that bureaucrats and technocrats could be trained. Except for a small hiccup in 1929 when the conservatives took over, the same policy was used by successors. One key feature was that the system had tremendous outside input and assistance, from Turkey, India, Egypt, Europe, USA and the Soviet Union. All foreigners involved in education for Afghans today should heed and ponder this fact. By 1978 when the turmoil began and the education system began to crumble, there were reportedly one million students in the secular sector, in 4,000 schools with 40,000 teachers. Despite this - all the money spent and expertise given - Afghanistan stood at the bottom of world achievement lists. Why? There were scores of reasons, many of them familiar. The underlying problem was that the system was top-heavy, elitist and concentrated in the urban areas. Only the most committed and bright students from the provinces could access the system. When the upheaval began, the leadership on both sides came from the elitist secular education system. The situation is now reversed, with leadership from the traditional religious education system. The problem is that neither system has produced visionary leadership because the education system failed. The ruling elite deliberately nurtured the elitist system; they were concerned that their autocratic system would be threatened. Ms Dupree concluded with four points. Firstly, although it is readily accepted that educa- tion is crucial for rebuilding, it needs to be clear that education is only a tool; it is not the an- swer. It can be used constructively or destructively, ideally opening a way to a lifetime of learning and building tolerance. Secondly, the bifurcation of traditional religious and state secular education into two parallel systems was designed to reduce the power of the religious hierarchy. Tension has always existed between the two systems. There is a strong belief, stronger now than ever, that there is too much foreign involvement and not enough input of Afghan culture. However, Ms. Dupree feels that Islam and modernism are compatible. Thirdly, conservative circles hold secular education responsible for communism and the displacement. They are very wary of the involvement of foreigners in molding the minds of youth: the anathema of secular education. This anathema has been spread among their follow- ers. Ms. Dupree believes that the general public's attitude has changed tangibly towards asking for schools. High school students are asking for books other than textbooks. There is a signifi- cant change. The momentum for accepting change is there, we must only sustain it. Finally, the exodus of Afghan professionals has hit everyone. Little is being done to expand the pool of professionals. The key thing is that we don't want to return to how things were in education previously even when the system was working. We need to take new steps and feels that the community is ready to march with us. Overview of Current Situation and Education Strategy for Afghanistan (Ellen Kalmthout, UNICEF, Helen Kirby Save the Children/US, Jorgen Baltzer, Swedish Committeefor Afghanistan) Ellen Kalmthout began by describing that the presentation was prepared by all three organizers of the workshop, but was meant to reflect the contribution of all agencies that work in the education sector. The three parts of the presentation were an overview of the current situation in education, an identification of the main issues in the education sector, and the strategy 5: EDUCATION ORF RfGHANS framework for education assistance agencies. The presentation focused on primary education, with references to the refugee context, but a focus on all Afghan children. Ellen explained that the state of education of Afghan children is a silent emergency with serious long-term and inter-generational implications, in terms of the capacity to rebuild the country and the ability of children to develop their full potentials. Ellen then provided figures on basic education. Although none of the data are completely reliable, it can be concluded from the data that Afghanistan has some of the lowest education indicators in the world. In the refugee context, the situation is slightly better. Afghans who are being educated in urban centers in Pakistan show no gender gap in enrollment rates. The data for secondary education, although unknown, must be equally dismal, especially since girls' participation is curtailed in the secondary grades. Geographically, enrolment rates are lowest in the central belt of Afghanistan, which includes the Taliban heartland. Enrolment rates for boys are higher than girls, but are still very low. Based on the statistics, it is apparent that the Taliban's edict on girls' education has had a devastating effect on girls' enrolment, especially in the urban areas. In terms of location of education assistance, about 20 assistance agencies are giving direct education assistance inside Afghanistan. Assistance efforts are concentrated in the eastern and northern provinces (close to Peshawar), in high refugee return and densely populated areas. The assistance is limited and falls short of demand. In addition, a majority of programs are reaching boys, meaning boys' education is not being neglected on account of girls'. Refugee villages in Pakistan are well covered, but there is much less support for private Afghan schools in Pakistan cities. Provision of education exists for religious, formal and modern secular, as well as alterna- tive delivery mechanisms. Mosque schools continue to provide basic religious and moral education to Afghan children and are probably the most sustainable form of education at the community level. Private home tutoring and madrassahs are other forms of religious education. Recently, the administration of girls' education was taken from the Ministry of Education and put under the Ministry of Religious Affairs. What the resulting effect of this move will be is not yet known. Formal schools in the Afghan context include official government schools, most of the refugee schools and many of the agency-run schools inside Afghanistan. The official govern- ment schools, managed by the authorities, cater mostly to boys and receive no official assistance except irregular payment of teachers. The schools are chronically under-resourced which has an effect on quality. Agency supported schools in rural Afghanistan and refugee villages in Paki- stan are usually provided with an entire package of these resources from international agencies and are in a better state. Some examples of alternative schools include community-based schools and home-based schools for girls in Afghanistan and refugee villages. The purpose and teaching content of these alternative schools or classes are the same as formal primary schools, but differ in organization tSB34,,, ttt00 0 -00000"f and management. Privately organized home-based schools at the urban level have also emerged as a result of the ban on girls' education. The BBC is also developing a radio education project for children, an innovative approach that will reach large numbers of Afghan children. The conclusion is that the aid community is making an important contribution the educa- tion sector in Afghanistan and for Afghan refugees. Moreover, it is being done in an innovative fashion which doesn't compromise both boys' and girls' access. The assistance community is also contributing to the development of alternative delivery mechanisms that will be important as tested models to be absorbed into a future unified Afghan education system. Helen Kirby then explained the connection between quality and capacity. Capacity building activities in the Afghan context can only be done on a small scale. The framework for looking at quality in education focuses on the quality of learning opportuni- ties, the learning environment and learning itself. The quality of learning opportunities in the Afghan context refers to the depen- dency on rote learning, with few opportunities to problem solve or bring the child's own knowledge or experience to the education. In addition, the material that is taught bears little relation to the children's lives or interests. The learning environment in the Afghan context is one where the few learning materials that are available are poor quality, outdated and inappropriate. The classrooms themselves are not conducive to learning. There is little reliable information about the quality of learning in the Afghan context. It may be as good as other countries, but it is not certain if what they are taught gives the children the foundation for life that enables them to make sense of their world and partici- pate i it fully to their maximum capacity. School and community links also feature regularly in the literature on improving the quality of education. There is increasing awareness of the importance of involving the wider community in all aspects of education in the context of education for Afghans. However, much remains to be done and a number of issues can be identified, some of which overlap with other areas of concern. For example, the question of who pays for a child's schooling lies at the heart of the question of qualitative reforms: community financing may be an answer but research is needed, with communities, to find out to what extent this (and other ways of involving the community in education provision) is possible and desirable. Helen went on to give an overview of some of the examples that illustrate that the issues of quality and capacity are possible to address in the short-term and on a small scale. They are initiatives that provide programme learning and allow the agencies to test models that can eventually be implemented when the situation changes in Afghanistan. Examples include the development of learning and teaching materials, professional development/teacher training, the 7 EDUCATION FOR AFGHRNS basic competency initia- tive, library boxes and the learning achievement case study. Next, Jorgen Baltzer identified the most important contex- tual, operational and technical issues to determine what can be done in the present. Contextual issues include human rights and gender issues, increasing demand for education services, the absence of government resources and support for education, and uncertainty in terms of future directions in policy and support. Operational and technical issues include: the role of the assistance community in education provision; the short-term, 'emergency' nature of assistance; the need to develop a shared vision/strategy for the long term but to also meet immediate needs; the limited capacity at all levels; the absence of delivery mechanisms which can be scaled up to successful models; and the lack of investment and concern in quality improvement. The strategy that Helen Kirby outlined is based on the 1998 strategy paper, "Education for Afghans." There are three points that must be considered when developing a strategy. First, whatever is done it must have both long term and short term applicability. A second consider- ation is with Common Programming, which is one of the objectives of the Strategic Framework for Afghanistan. Education, as a sector in the Basic Social Services thematic group, has a set of long term strategic objectives that have guided decisions about developing education sector priorities for 2000 and beyond. We should also be concerned with the issue of ownership. While 'outside' agencies and individuals have a role in education innovation, strategies imposed on Afghan education will not be successful. We must look to work within 'margins for develop- ment' that are sustainable and supported by Afghan educators. The presentation concluded by saying that even in the current political climate, there is considerable room for increasing and improving education opportunities for Afghan children. The factors affecting access to quality education are numerous and complex and will require a long-term investment of human and financial resources. The investment required in education is small relative to the price we will pay for ignoring education for Afghans. Key Issues and Questions, Govert Visser: Royal Netherlands Embassy Govert Visser began by saying that as a representative of a donor, he was pleased to make a couple of remarks at the beginning of this workshop that would focus on the opportunities to provide education for Afghans. He wanted to make clear from the outset that he was just representing one donor and not speaking on behalf of the other donors present. He was pleased to be present for two reasons: firstly, because education 'can be done' for Afghans both in and outside Afghanistan, although unfortunately in the past couple of years a lot of attention has been given to the impediments. Secondly, because notwithstanding the interest and commitment of some donors for the sector, more can and should be done to avoid an even greater catastrophe. In that regard he believes that education is a necessary condition to address manifold issues that Afghans are faced with in human rights, health problems, protecting the environ- ment etc. Moreover, education helps to create interpersonal, inter-tribal and inter-ethnic understanding. Since the beginning of last year, the Netherlands has assisted some initiatives of different players in the field of education with a view to raise the issue more prominently and find common ground to move ahead. In February 1998 the then Minister for Development Coop- eration of the Netherlands indicated to both the Taliban authorities in Kabul and Kandahar and to different aid agencies to look for compromises and a way out of the stalemate that had emerged regarding the Taliban ban on girls' education. The stalemate is still there, though pragmatic and workable solutions have been found or were already existing. Nevertheless, the overall result is still rather modest: the majority of children in Afghanistan does not attend schools or are not receiving out-of-school education. Apart from the stalemate, the decreasing availability of secondary and tertiary education for Afghans in Afghanistan and Pakistan was identified as a disastrous development hat should be addressed. Regrettably this development is continuing. The whole education system needs to be addressed in a comprehensive way. As a consequence, the Netherlands co-funded a consultancy to produce a state-of-the-art document. The consultancy and the workshop organized by UNICEF and Save the Children USA resulted in a strategy paper called 'Education for Afghans', which came out in summer 1998. (The Executive Summary of this paper was given to all participants.) The paper serves as a good point of departure to make further steps. Many questions and issues are raised and since its production, many initiatives have been undertaken in several fora such as the ACBAR sub- committee for education. The paper also states that Afghanistan could be a pilot to try out a new approach. He then went on the highlight some issues and questions, which despite his not being a professional in the field, were ones which he was confronted with, in particular in discussions with the Hague. Firstly, questions about how to deal with authorities: the lack of any educational policy or vision of the authorities. It would be desirable for the authorities to be more informed of which agencies are doing what. Community involvement and bottom-up pressure are instrumental in creating the right policy environment. .9. EDUCATION FOR RFGHANS Secondly, at an operational level the issue is very much how to depart from just handing out services without mobilizing communities. Third, the distorted image with headquarters or capitals that with the exception of refugee education, education is impossible in complex emergencies. For Mr. Visser and other donor representatives, this means that it is impossible to access development or education budgets. Fourth, the ever-recurring difficulty to approve medium term programs focusing on developing quality education, institutional development and capacity building activities. Fifth, how to increase access, improve quality and support capacity building. Sixth, the challenge to provide motivation and hope for Afghans that improved conditions are possible. He concluded by commenting that it is probably true that common ground exists among the representatives of the aid community regarding these issues. Nevertheless the workshop is worthwhile and it is encouraging that major players - though with the exception of any authori- ties - are willing to discuss today what can be done and furthermore that the World Bank is hosting it. He hoped that the day would be fruitful to establish more common ground to move ahead in this challenging situation. His colleague Mrs. Maaike van Fliet, Education Advisor at the Royal Netherlands Em- bassy made some points. She felt that the basic questions regarding education are the same worldwide: the need for an education system/vision, equity issues, access, capacity, financing and community/ parental participation. The need for quality cannot be overemphasized, but the term needs to mean more than just academic achievement. Personal growth is a necessity, not a luxury. She had the following questions: e Why are we supporting education in Afghanistan? e What is our vision? I [s there a need for a more developmental approach? * Should we build up a more holistic approach? * Do we need to consider increased funding? * What are the priorities for action? * How do we monitor? She also pointed to lessons learned from elsewhere in the world, for example in materials development and teacher resource centers. She also felt that lessons from SAPP (Social Action Program, Pakistan) could be valuable. GENERAL DISCUSSION Amir Mohammed Ahmadi, Solidarite Afghanistan Belgium (SAB): we are now a destroyed country, the system has been destroyed. Dr. Farzand Durrani, Afghan University Peshawar: focused on the importance of university education and the dwindling resources for this. Professionals are crucial for the future of Afghanistan. Other participants shared his opinions. A representative of an Afghan NGO felt that much of the problem was related to teachers' salaries. 90% of professional teachers seek other work, as they cannot survive on their salary alone. How can a teacher bring quality if he has to go from teaching in the morning to heavy labor such as well digging in the aftemoon just to earn a living? Achieving Progress on the Ground - Best Practices/Recommendations Service Delivery in the absence of effectively functioning government The group first explained that when considering how to provide assistance for the educa- tion, education agencies should define a basic minimum which is acceptable to provide for the sector and then put a funding figure to what is required to meet that basic minimum. The common understanding that group one made was that education is possible in the current environment. Thus, the objectives are: * To improve quality of education * To expand the existing education into secondary, tertiary, non-formal (literacy and voca- tional) * To work actively towards developing a common service delivery strategy that is shared and owned by all stakeholders. There is a need for a common rationale, but with different practical implementation strategies to respond to different environments and contexts. The opportunities identified by the group include: * There is a demand from communities for education * Agencies have both the core capacity and the interest to work in the education sector * There is increasing cooperation between agencies that is leading to better coordination * Local agreements/community pressure (inconsistent policies between local authorities) means it is possible to do girls' education The constraints identified by the group include: There is a lack of a common framework in proportion to the capacity and funds available There is a lack of long-term funds (in turn as a result of a current lack of common rational to Headquarters of donors and taxpayers) and only emergency funds are available for short-term The suggestion offered to overcome the constraints is to form a think-tank group which develops the common rationale for funding to donor headquarters. ..¶.. EDUCATION FOR RFGHRNS Dealing with policy constraints, including gender issues The group spent some time discussing "constraints on whose policy?": authority policy? community policy? aid policy? They then went on to identify main constraints as the following: * There is a lack of a national education policy and leadership * There is a lack of vision for the education sector, which has both positive and negative implications * There is a shortage of both financial and human resources to deal adequately with the sector * Community support for education is high * Equity in education is difficult to achieve with current policies * Gender issues will continue to be important factors in educating Afghans * Education must be relevant to the students' lives * There is a need to address both primary and higher levels of education The group then posed themselves a question: "How do we deal with these constraints?" The group thought specifically how they had worked with constraints on education for girls and women. The discussion highlighted a number of successful ways of working with constraints: * Build community support for our work L Look for local strategies for local successes 3 Be prepared to negotiate with patience and trust and try to avoid confrontation * Improve our negotiating skills for the context in which we work * Share lessons learned about working with policy constraints The group recognized that all of these require human and financial resources. It was also felt that the above ways of dealing with constraints were somewhat 'localized' and that at some point local, small scale initiatives had to link with, and impact on, higher level policy making and negotiations. We need make the linkages wherever and whenever possible but recognize that it might not be possible, at the moment, to achieve dramatic results on policy making. The group felt that 'local activities with local successes' were investments in the future and that many such activities could eventually add up to 'a critical mass' that would act to change policy at higher levels. Refugee education/higher education With the ultimate goal of education programs for refugees to rebuild the country, the objectives for refugee education identified by group 3 were to provide educational opportunities for the first time for those from rural areas, to invest in basic education and higher education opportu- nities, to provide quality education, to provide access for girls, to avoid dependence, to develop different approaches and to provide skills. J %Jil:$00MVg3 The main issues and constraints facing assistance agencies are: * Demand is increasing, but funding is remaining steady * Funds are not available to make a long- term commitment to the sector * Political developments in and between Afghanistan and the countries of Asylum * Technical issues such as the lack of expertise, lack of teaching aids and materials, few chances for continuity, teacher attrition * Operational Issues such as the lack of NGOs (in Iran) and security * Information sharing which would lead to , more analysis and better decision making is insufficient The assistance agencies have dealt with these issues by: * Using resources in cost-effective ways, such as multi-grading, doubling shifting and improved community participation * There has been continual dialogue with authorities and all actors * Incentives are being provided to increase female participation (WFP provides edible oil) * There is a use of different education delivery systems, such as home-based schools * Improvements have been made in quality and enrollment, with improved teacher commit- ment, resource materials developed, basic competencies developed, teacher training, resource rooms * Dropout and retention rates have been improved through more child-friendly materials, such as playgrounds * The relevance of material taught has improved, such as a focus on life skills The following were suggested to improve the situation: * An increase in funding for the education sector * Better collaboration between activities in country of asylum and country or origin (for refugee and returnee populations) * More dialogue, info-sharing and coordination towards to goal of developing a common education policy ..,3 CDUCRTION FOR RFGHANS * Improved quality and standardization, especially in the case of private schools for Afghans * More technical education, in the case of Iran * On going dialogue to document best practices Although the group only discussed briefly the issue of higher education, these were their suggestions: * Increase the quota of Afghan students who can study in the country of asylum * Provide a variety of field of study which are orientated to the demands of the job market * Provide distance learning opportunities Human and financial resources In terms of human and financial resources, group four identified the following current problems: * Teachers are not being paid Only short-term funding is available * There is a lack of local, grassroots NGOs * There is a lack of locally raised revenue * The assumption is that external actors are responsible for the sector * Donor attitudes are not favorable to engaging with authorities * Authorities are not homogenous in their views on education * There is a lack of coordination between NGOs and different partners * Implementing NGOs lack capacity * There is a tradition in communities that the state will provide The group's ideas on working towards a solution include: Community participation and support does work * There is potential in working with local authorities who hold control * Community involvement is important but not sufficient * There is a high demand for education from parents * There is improved cost-effectiveness in the methods used by implementing agencies Its recommendations are that: * It is not just a matter of money. This is an issue but donors are not going to pay more salaries. Everyone agrees education is important but a longer strategy is needed (3 years) to convince donors. * A vision is needed, but who determines this and who sets the agenda? There needs to be a range of vision. * Donors should put there money into improving quality * Donors want to be engaged in the debate on education. GENERAL DISCUSSION Dr. Farzand Durrani: reiterated his points on the importance of funding for higher education. Helen Kirby, Save the Children USA: firstly, the expression 'higher education' needs to be widened to include professional development. Secondly, due to limited funding, choices will have to be made about whether to fund primary or higher education. Her opinion was that if primary school enrolment stands at around 8% then we don't want to lose sight of the fact the primary education is in a desperate state. Higher education requires considerable funding for only a few people. William Byrd, World Bank: enquired how much of a constraint the policies of host govern- ments were on refugee education. The general response was that most refugee education was not constrained by government policies. Andrew Wilder, Save the Children USA: asked for clarification of donors' approaches to funding multi-year education projects. Contrary to his experiences, discussions had given him the impression that if he now submitted a proposal for a multi-year project to donors they would be very interested. Ann Freckleton, Departmentfor International Development (DFID): clarified that, at least in DFID's case, they are very keen to understand our three year vision, but won't necessarily be able to fund for that long. DFID can currently only guarantee funding over six month periods. She agreed this is not very motivational. Maaike van Fliet (Dutch Embassy): (responding to a number of comments on the importance of higher education): the whole room agrees on the importance of higher education. However, we need to explore other ways of funding it, such as private sources. Geert van der Casteele (UNHCR): responded to a participant who was under the impression that Afghans could not enter Pakistani institutions, saying that this was not the case. In fact, 7 5 students were currently sponsored by UNHCR in Pakistani institutions. He felt that they should consider raising this number. William Byrd (World Bank): emphasized the findings of numerous studies that showed that primary education has much higher social returns than higher education. He felt that the meeting should not focus on higher education for this reason. Another point was that even if higher education was supported more, there is the issue of how to stop the brain drain ..S15 EDUCRTION FOR RFGHRNS What Should be Done? (Chaired by Victor Carvell, CIDA) Donor Perspective, Ewen Macleod, EU Mr. Macleod explained that his opinions were that of a general donor perspective and not particular to the EU. He was impressed with the quality of inputs at the meeting and encour- aged the international community to continue to focus on the positive opportunities working in Afghanistan and not focus on the negative challenges of the situation. A new paradigm for working in long-term crises needs to be defined in order to overcome these challenges. With a deeper understanding of the opportunities that exist, new, better- adapted interventions could be developed. He suggested that the international community be more realistic about their expectations. Realistically, large resources for Afghanistan will not be made available until a stable and durable peace settlement occurs. The international community needs to learn how to be more flexible with the humanitarian assistance available. Because funds allocated to Afghanistan come out of emergency budgets, they are subject to competition from other global emergencies and complicated conditions on their use. It is unlikely that that will change in the near future. He also mentioned that on a policy level, there were many different priorities in Afghani- stan. As a country at war, there are several immediate needs to be addressed, such as health, food security and economic opportunities. The donor community must insist that education remain as one of the priorities because the returns are numerous. Given the resource con- straints, he suggested that assistance agencies implement programs that have multiplier effects, such as non-formal education and home-based schools. He suggested that education programs should focus on positive results, community involvement, quality (not quan- tity), and have a monitoring and evaluation component. There should be a focus on the quality of outcomes and not outputs. The international community must also work on building social support for education with well-designed projects. Dr. Nuristani, Afghan-German Basic Education (AGBasEd) Dr. Nuristani offered the Afghan NGO perspective. He said that the "Education for Afghans" report had correctly A identified the state of education in Afghanistan as a national and _ silent emergency. If the international community is not in a position to give extensive amounts of assistance, short-term solutions will not permanently change the state of education in Afghanistan. It is now very clear that communities have a tremendous will to educate both their boys and girls. He mentioned a Swedish Committee for Afghanistan report that shows the community's preference for modern schools over religious schools. The Afghan NGOs hope that the international community will change their hesitant funding attitude towards Afghanistan. He also suggested that international aid agencies have a closer relationship with the Afghan authorities. There is a need to support the central authority with curriculum develop- ment, setting standards and textbooks and other materials. He also suggested that the pace of UN negotiations with the Taliban be accelerated and that Afghans, who best know the mindset of the Taliban, be involved in the negotiations. He suggested that the UN express to the Taliban their views on the current education situation in Afghanistan. He also suggested that international agencies attempt to better understand the social, religious and cultural sensitivities of Afghanistan. International agencies can not be rigid and confrontational, but must be flexible when implementing their educational programs. The international community should value Afghans opinions and base their decisions on those opinions. Next, he recommended that the capacity of Afghan NGOs be strengthened, but advised caution to ensure that only NGOs with the capacity to deliver programs are selected. There needs to be greater coordination in the use of resources so as not to duplicate efforts. Andrew Wilder, NGO Perspective Mr. Wilder described the international NGO perspective on what needs to be done in the education sector. He said that since there is plenty to be done, the needs must be prioritized. There is a sense of urgency to recognize that a national emergency exists in the education sector in Afghanistan and the current generation will be less well educated than the previous. Due to this urgency, there must be a focus on what can be done. The international commu- nity had a tendency to focus on the constraints, but that much can be done in terms of quality and capacity building in the education sector. Contextual issues of working in Afghanistan are often highlighted as a way to cover up what little is being done. Instead, there is a need to take advantage of the opportunities that do exist now and agree on strategies to implement before and when the current policies change. He suggested five steps that can be taken to achieve this. First, there is a need for a long- term strategy with long term funding. The report produced by UNICEF, SCA, and SC/US, "Education for Afghans" is good in laying out a three-year strategy and practical steps. Second, there is a need for greater support to be given to agencies working in Afghanistan for program learning. This can be done through action research, documentation of best practices and evalua- tions. This information then needs to be collected, disseminated and fed into the sector strategy. Thirdly, there should be an increased focus on capacity and quality, instead of pure enrollment rates. Material development and teacher training are some of the best way to accom- 7 EDUCaTION FOR AFGHANS plish this. Next, strategies must be developed to improve access and take programs to scale. Emphasis should be on innovative work. Although basic education should be given the priority, something needs to be done for higher education since it has received no assistance until now. He suggested that more innovative interventions should be explored, such as distance learning, means for professional development, etc. GCNERAL DISCUSSION Seddiq Neera, who represents the Canadian Coalitionfor Afghan Peace and Development, suggested several ways the organization could contribute to the rehabilitation and peaceful settlement of the situation in Afghanistan. There is a need to explore ways to utilize education as a way to peaceful living, such as training students and teachers so they can learn how to resolve their problems in a peaceful way, such as through anger management, conflict resolu- tion and mediation skills. Also, in order to resolve immediate problems, skills should be given to youth to help them rebuild their infrastructure, such as construction and carpentry for rebuilding schools and clinics. Also, work needs to be done for the psychological health of the people who feel hopelessness and suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders. Food security and revenue generating projects should also be provided to schools. Nastaran Moosavifrom Ockenden International. Iran spoke on the situation of Afghan refugees in Iran She explained that there is a great need for NGOs to assist in Iran, especially in the education sector. She said this is especially true if the situation of Afghan refugees in Iran continues to decline. She said that the refugees are being seen as the cause of problems, such as crime and smuggling. In order to avoid conflict, she says there is a great need for international assistance. Ahmed Said Farah, UNHCR Afghanistan - Suggested that if the international community is facing problems in Afghanistan, they should not rush to leave. When they do this it reduces their credibility. Nancy Hatch Dupree - She complemented the box libraries as something that was produced by the international community itself, explaining that they are materials which were not avail- able on the open market. She encouraged people to contact her if they would like further copies of any of the materials. Samantha Reynolds of UNCHS-Habitat asked if there was support for the issue of forming an Action task force to develop a joint rationale for why the education sector needed to be sup- ported long term was going to be a concrete action that came out of the meeting. Anders Fange identified the main challenge as one to prove to the politicians of the interna- tional community that it is possible to accomplish good things despite working in a country without a central authority, a despised region, a press and media who sensationalize the situa- tion and a regime with suppresses the rights of girls to education. He said that the only way to improve the situation of funding for Afghanistan is to understand it as a political issue which must be responded to with political arguments. Another participant said that the priorities of the communities must be examined, explaining that most families are just trying to survive. Families need money to buy food and often send their children off to work in the market place instead of to school. Therefore, an integrated approach which looks at education, agricultural skills and vocational training may be more successful. Another participant suggested that building a unified curriculum should also be a priority in order that all Afghan children are educated under the same curriculum. Closing remarks: Louis-Georges Arsenault, UNICEF He said that what he gathered from the meeting was that despite the bleak view by the international community of the future of Afghanistan, things are happening, even if they are on a small scale and we are reaching only a small percentage of children. Yet, demand for education is continuing to increase inside Afghanistan, in the communities, in the refugee villages and for returnees. However, there is a disconnect between the communities and the actual policy formulation, but both dialogues need to continue and to eventually merge. The priorities for education need to focus on quality and capacity. The level of education given priority also needs to be at the primary level, although not forgetting in totality the need to also support higher education. Also, there is a need for a longer term strategy and funding. One paper has already been developed, and in addition, the 2000 Common Programming initiative does propose multi-year funding. An appeal will be made in the coming weeks with this appeal. There is also a need to further the ideas of education in crisis. Education should be a priority in a crisis situation and we have a collective responsibility to do more. He mentioned that the next ASG meeting to be held in Ottawa should contain an agenda item on education. He says that this has not been done before, but at the very least, the outcomes of this meeting should be discussed. William Byrd thanked all the colleagues for their participation and said that a follow-up meeting is to be held in December in Washington, DC building on the ideas that came out of this meeting. . .. EDUCATION FOR AFGHANS List of Participants H Govert Visser, Netherlands Embassy Maaike Van Vliet, Netherlands Embassy William Byrd, World Bank Pavi A. LeDve, SCA Nayyar Iqbal, SC/US Tom Hushek, US Embassy S. Ibrahim Abdali, UNO/ATEP Rashid Chowdhury, Swedish Embassy A. Salam Rahimy, CHA Dr. Sima Samor, Shuhad Organization Nazifa Aabedi, AIL Dr. Faiz Mohammed, AITM Dr. Farzand Durrani, Afghan University, Peshawar Geert Van De Casteele, UNHCR Andrew Wilder, SC/US Sitara, UNDP Afghanistan Ann Freckleton, British High Commission Sahir Zahine, DHSA Abdul Rahim, ISRA Alexandrea Taha, WHO Afghanistan Niloufar Pourzand, UNICEF Afghanistan Joyce Gachiri, UNICEF Afghanistan Nastaran Moossavi, Ockenden Int'l, Iran Dr. Alef-Shah Zadran, CARE Int'l, Peshawar Victor Carvell, Canadian Embassy Hasan Mohammed, Care Int'l, Kabul Kurt Ostby, UNDP Afghanistan Solofo Ramaroson, UNICEF Afghanistan Louis-Georges Arsenault, UNICEF Afghanistan Ellen Kalmthout, UNICEF Afghanistan Ewen Macleod, European Commission Arshad Saeed Khan, UNESCO Amir Mohammed Ahmadi, Solidarite Afghanistan Belgium (SAB) Eric Watelet, SAB Maysoon Melek, UN Coordinator's Office Shinobu Yamaguchi, Embassy of Japan F ;L J Nancy Dupree, ARIC Anders Fange, SCA Dr. S. B. Ekanayake, UNHCR Roza Gul, SCA Wahidi, DCAP Dr. Nuristani, AGBas-Ed Eng. Hakim Gul, ESAR Sarwar Hussaini, CCA Eng. Sayed Rahim Sattor, ANCB Mike Sackett, WFP Arahad Saeed Khan, UNESCO Seediq Weera, McMaster University and Canadian Coalition for Afghan Peace & Devlp't Bjorn Johannessen, Royal Norwegian Embassy Steve Ashby, Save the Children Fund/UK Vera Kiem, WFP Samantha Reynolds, UNCHS Barnaby Willitts-King, SC/US William Boyce, Faculty of Education, Queen's University Canada Sofia Muller, Swedish Teachers' Union Ulf Edlund, Swedish Teachers' Union Peter Coleridge, CDAP, UNOPS Helen Kirby, SC/US forgen Baltzer, SCA M.Qasim Wahaj, 0/I Hassan Mohamed, CARE M. Shamel Mohamodi, IOM Ahmed Said Farah, UNHCR Afghanistan . t1 EDUCATION fOR AFGHANS Education for Afghans December 13, 1999 The World Bank, Washington, D.C. Opening Remarks Mieko Nishimizu Vice President, South Asia Region Economic history teaches us, that nations prosper and reduce poverty when: * their economic & social policies are of high quality; and * their people act out of their own conviction and vision. This lesson is about the "quality" of nation states. That quality of nations, in the end, is about the quality of the sovereign people-of leaders and citizens-as human beings. The quality of human beings, in turn, is about the confidence to think rationally, and the courage to think independently. And ultimately, such quality is about: * quality education & learning outcomes; and * quality of parenthood, especially of mothers. As such, the topic of this workshop is at the foundation of nation-building. But education for the nation-building of Afghanistan is perhaps one of the most awesome challenges we have known. We are challenged not because of what we know today about conditions of education and gender in Afghanistan, but because of what we do not know. That part of South Asia we call Afghanistan today, has not known enduring peace. Not j ust for a mere decade or two, not just in this century that is about to end, but for the entire known history of that region. We may know all the discriminating features of quality educational systems and institutions. We may even know something about enabling social capital, including gender issues, for quality learning outcomes. But, I fear we know very little about them in the "contextual fabric" of a society like Afghanistan. This is why my staff, management team and I place the highest priority on today's topic. This is also why we want to learn about today's topic from this workshop and other partnership engagements. As you may know, the World Bank is a development bank that lends other people's money - money we borrow from capital markets around the world, by issuing IBRD bonds, and money entrusted in our revolving concessionary fund called IDA, by taxpayers of richer nations. So, like all sound banks, our sovereign shareholders expect Bank loans to be repaid in full and on time. That means we cannot make fresh financial commitments to any member countries, like Afghanistan, who are in default with us, and do not have legitimate governments that represent the sovereign people's debt-service obligations. But, I know from history that peace has a habit of surprising us. A few years ago, I there- fore asked my management team and staff to reach a point of full preparedness for a re-engage- ment with Afghanistan, as soon as possible. To do so in strong partnerships with all develop- ment partners, and to do so learning from those with the mandate and capacity to engage now, know the grass-roots conditions, and understand the evolving social context of Afghanistan. I am truly delighted to be able to open this workshop, and I wish you a meaningful learn- ing experience, for the sovereign people of Afghanistan. ...3 EDUCATION FOR AFGHANS Education for Afghans December 13, 1999 The World Bank, Washington, D.C. Abbreviations ACBAR-Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief AGBasEd-Afghan German Basic Education CARE-Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere CIDA-Canadian International Development Agency DFID-Department for International Development Refwid-Refugee Women and Children SCA-Swedish Committee For Afghanistan UNDP-United Nations Development Programme UNHCR-United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees UNICEF-United Nations Children's Fund EDUCATION FoR AFGHANS Education for Afghans December 13, 1999 The World Bank, Washington, D.C. Workshop Minutes Education for Rfghans (Chaired by Mr. Sadiq Ahmed, Chief Economist, South Asia Regional Vice Presidency, World Bank) Opening Remarks: Mieko Nishimizu, Vice President, World Bank South Asia Region In her opening remarks, Ms. Nishimizu welcomed the participants to the workshop. She went on to describe the connection between education and nation building. Education, improves the quality of human beings-as leaders and citizens-an essential component of "quality" nation states, with sound economic and social policies leading to prosperity and reduced poverty. She said nation-building is a particular challenge in Afghanistan because the country has not experienced lasting peace for the entire known history of the region, and she added that the outside world knows very little about the "contextual" fabric of Afghan society. Because the Bank has an obligation to its stakeholders for the repayment of the money it lends, it cannot make new financial commitments to member countries, such as Afghanistan, who are in default with the Bank and who do not have legitimate governments that represent debt- service obligations. Ms. Nishimizu said that she knows, however, that peace has a habit of surprising us, and so she wanted the World Bank to be prepared for re-engagement with Afghanistan as soon as possible. To prepare for this, she welcomed opportunities to develop strong partnerships and learn from those who are working in Afghanistan. Current Situation in Afghanistan: Victor Carvell, Representative, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Mr. Carvell described the current situation in Afghanistan, in particular the devastating effects events have had on infrastructure and human resources. He added that people with a higher education had left the country, and also that the Afghan refugee population is the largest in the world. Social indicators are very low and the gender equity situation is "nothing short of awful". Mr. Carvell said there is very little outside assistance getting into Afghanistan. The UN is the leader, and the ICRC (International Committee for the Red Cross) has a substantial pro- gram. Bilateral donors operate out of Islamabad along with a growing number of Afghan NGOs. IFIs (International Financial Institutions) have very little presence, but several are .'5 EDUCATION FOR AFGHANS maintaining a "watching brief". Most aid is short-term humanitarian relief, while long term development issues get little attention. He added that the World Food Program accounts for around half of UN assistance. Mr. Carvell said the key issue for donors is long term construction, rehabilita- tion, and whether such reforms can be sustainable. Human rights and gender issues are at top of (the donor) list of concerns. The war is a major issue for donors. Many have lost projects when the front line was moved. Political instability makes things difficult: who do we talk to? He added that the Taliban authorities have made it clear they intend to engage and be involved in the setting of priorities. Mr. Carvell described the recent method for donors' contributions: "Prin- cipled Common Programming" This is an attempt at more effective programming that is coordinated and complimentary and a trade-off between pragmatism and prin- ciple. Mr. Carvell pointed out that the current workshop directly followed the Ottowa Afghan Support Group (ASG) meeting which was the sixth such meetings. In that meeting, there were attempts to focus on selected areas of concerns regarding the humanitarian assistance agenda (rather than focus on security issues). The 5 points of consensus that emerged in Ottowa were: 1. Political options are poor-very few options to engage the Taliban politically 2. It is important to get operations, especially the UN, back into Afghanistan and out of neighboring countries to improve quality of the work 3. Donors, especially bilateral, must engage with the Pakistan and Iranian governments on border/trade/food security issues. Currently shipments are being hindered by neighbor- ing countries and refugees are being forced back into Afghanistan. There is concern that this situation will worsen 4. There have been some gender/health improvements, there are opportunities to work there 5. We need some resolution of the long-term funding issue. The current single-year funding is making it difficult to support education and health programs. Looking ahead, Carvell said, with Switzerland as the next chair of the ASG, at the top of the list is answering the question of how to engage with Taliban. We've largely ignored them, and we cannot continue to do that, some form of engagement is required, and we have to push forward on donor collaboration, while reducing the bureaucratic delays of the past-focussing on the substance, not the process. Current Situation Analysis, and a Strategy for Afghan Education Part I: Joint Presentation by Ellen van Kalmthout, Project Officerfor Education, UNICEF-Afghanistan and Helen Kirby, Education Advisor, Save the Children USA Ms. van Kalmthout described the "silent emergency" of the education system in Afghanistan, saying that soon a generation of children will reach adulthood without education and with devastating results. But she cautioned that we should not mistake the situation for being positive before the Taliban. It was already a bad situation. She said that, ironically there is now more diversity and freedom in education provision. While there is still a religious system of education, there is also a modern and secular system which, formerly only provided by the state, now has a new variety of providers. Communities have been able to negotiate for equitable education in some cases. There are some schools run by teachers who are no longer able to teach in formal schools, some of them receiving external funding. She added we should also note the new BBC educational programs being broadcast for children. Most education assistance is for rural education in areas of high refugee concern, these areas have high population. But there is little external support for private schools in Afghani- stan. Ms. van Kalmthout said assistance agencies make an important contribution and are reaching 300 to 350,000 primary school aged children (around 8 percent). To increase access, more than one delivery model is required, we must prepare so that various models can be developed into a unified education system. We must encourage community participation and determine the best strategies for the Afghan context. Agencies will not compromise their principles for equitable education (so they will not support formal education which denies girls educational equity). Quality is another area where agencies make a difference. Ms. Helen Kirby stated that even if the political and security system were to suddenly change, we would not be able to provide quality education in Afghanistan-modern develop - ments in education have passed by Afghanistan. Capacity building has been neglected on all but a small scale. 1. Quality of inputs: Physical environment, materials, are not conducive and in fact have been described as an obstacle to learning. Teacher training is theoretical and irrelevant, opportunities are not followed up, trainers don't have required skills and understanding. .7 EDUCRTION FOR RFGHRNS 2. Quality of process: rote memorization, copying (rather than real writing) few opportuni- ties to solve problems or bring their own understanding into the classroom, lack of variety of methods 3. Quality of output: Children's skills upon completion do not equip them for productive lives. There is a need for research to promote tested models of best practice. Some agencies are undertaking studies. Ms. Kirby then gave some examples of educational material work being done by various organizations. Current Situation Analysis, and a Strategyfor Afghan Education Part II: Dr. YusufNuristani, Managing Director, Afghan-German Basic Education (AGBasEd) Before the advent of the Taliban, there was little interest in education for Afghanistan, according to Dr. Nuristani, and since the Taliban gained control, human rights and gender equity issues have dominated the discussion of education At the ground level, where most agencies operate, much-and more-can be done despite official restrictions. There is increasing demand for education services, including for girls. There is a lack of government resources and support for the education sector, which raises the question: Who should take responsibility to educate the children? There is uncertainty in terms of future directions of policy. Dr. Nuristani asked the question: should agencies step into the role of government? Many feel this is not their role, but if not, who is responsible for the rights of the children? If we accept we have a responsibility, how far can we go? Education is a development activity and cannot be planned for a year at a time. We need long-term funding commitments. We need to develop a shared vision for the long-term--even before we can fund long-term. There is an absence of delivery mechanisms to scale up successful models so they can reach a significant number of children. There has been a lack of investment and concern in quality improvement. 1. whatever we do must have short-term and long term applicability 2. must have common programming and sectoral priorities 3. strategies imposed on Afghanistan will not be successful or sustainable-we must look for models that are owned by afghan educators 4. we must consider multiplier and mediating effects: to increase reach and scope of success- ful models Even in the current political climate, there are considerable opportunities to make an impact with far-reaching consequences for the rehabilitation of Afghanistan in the future. It will require long-term investment of interest, and human and financial resources. M GENERRL DISCUSSION Umer Daudzai, Representative, (UNDP Afghanistan): has been involved in discussions with Taliban, and said they are not against education, but the type of education that outsiders intend to offer to Afghani children. The term "secular" is an outside word, not in the vocabu- lary of the Taliban. The Taliban edict is not the only obstacle: operational capacity, human resources, war-related issues are other obstacles. There is traditional religious, formal and alternative education. It is a good start that the Taliban are willing to provide religious educa- tion to girls in Mosques, and if they stay in power, we might want to encourage them to include other subjects in religious education. Judy Benjamin, Gender Advisor, (Women's Commissionfor Refugee Women and Chil- dren-NY): Asked if host considered inviting Taliban US representative to participate. Shon Cambell, (Save the Children UK/Afghanistan): we must remember there are various representatives we may need to consider. Anders Fange, Country Director, (Swedish Committee): Afghanistan is a no-state situation. The Taliban are not a state administratively. The Taliban are saying what they believe we want to hear. We should take them seriously, but I wouldn't put my money on what they are saying- such as their interest in coming up with curriculum and improving education. Sima Wali, President, (Refugee Women in Development): There is no assistance for Af- ghanistan refugees in the cities in Afghanistan. And I would like us to discuss that. Dr. Anwar ul haq Jabarkheil, Chairman, (Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief- ACBAR): It is extremely important to look at higher education in Afghanistan, and not only at primary. Shoukria Haidar, Founder, (NEGARR-AFGHANS): Shoukria said the issues of security and peace are directly related to educational issues. The Taliban order is to exclude ALL women and girls from education. Of course we have heard that the Taliban do not raise objec- tions, and provide religious education, but we cannot say this is learning and education. But the entire future of Afghan-such as need for doctors and others-is something forbidden. Regard- ing customs and tradition, before the Taliban there was a tremendous demand for education. This still exists. Is there any other road to be followed-besides what we directly have been following with the Taliban, and in those areas where the Taliban are not in control. In these areas, such as in the northeast, there is a school in nearly every village and 98 percent of boys/ girls are going to school. ..... EDUCRTION FOR RFGHRNS Helen Kirby, Education Advisor, (Save the Children US): Save the children has just com- pleted a study on higher education studies in Afghanistan, so there are things happening on higher education, and we are also working on education for people who don't necessarily have refugee status. Dr. Yusuf Nuristani, Managing Director, Afghan German Basic Education, (AGBasEd): There ARE girls in schools, even in Taliban controlled areas-under community education. The Taliban are beginning to change their attitude to education. Their problem is in principles: one they said NO education, they have trouble backstepping-all areas we work in are Taliban controlled, we are not working in SECRET, they know about it, but they ask, do not ask for any written documents from us on this. Victor Carvell, (CIDA): Responding to the question about why the Taliban were not invited to the current meeting, Carvell said the Taliban were not invited because the Taliban are not recognized. He said we also want to run this as professional development assistance meeting- the Taliban have not been invited to any of our past meetings, if we invite members who are still shooting at each other, it will not be possible. Carvell said he had little trouble explaining this fact to the Taliban foreign minister when they spoke. Dr. Abdul Waseh Latifi, Former lecturer, Kabul University:, It is not possible to negotiate with Taliban for girls' education. There is war in Afghanistan. How can we teach people who cannot eat, don't have shelter. The war has to be stopped first. Zoubida Allaoua, Country Coordinator, Pakistan and Afghanistan (World Bank): Our heart bleeds at the situation faced by women and children, we didn't think that organizing a seminar based on the political situation would be productive. We thought we should start learning how to work given the situation as it stands now, the Taliban are not going to disappear any time soon. We are organizing these seminars to keep ourselves current and should peace happen, we will be ready to intervene immediately. If we don't go into political discussions, it's not that we don't care, but that we thought it would not be a positive element. The Bank is not a political organization. AW d 00'00 9MI Gender and Education in - , S :; Rfghaniston (Chaired by Pamela Hunte, Social Scientist, Social Development Sector Unit, South Asia Region, World Bank) Gender, Education, and Islam: Dr. Riffat Hasan, Professor of Theology, University of Louisville Dr Hassan said she has spent 20 years - developing a feminist theology in the Islamic tradition. She said while gender education in Islam is a broad subject, but many of the points are relevant to Afghanistan. All the 5 major religions developed in patriar- chal culture, and have been perpetuated by men. There is a discrepancy between sources of normative Islam (found in the Koran) and the tradition (practical/oral))-and the patriarchal interpretation. There is not discrimination against women in normative Islam, except through patriarchal interpretation. The primary focus of Islamic laws is putting women in their place and in their space. Dr. Hasan asked, why are they so concerned with women when there is already rampant injustice and corruption in the current political system? Dr. Hasan said the greatest challenge for modern Muslims is the question of gender justice and equity and modernity. She spoke of two interpretations of modernization: There is modern- ization as far as a standard of living and technology, and the second is :westernization-which is equated with everything negative and colonization. The emancipated Muslim woman is usually seen as an example of Westernization. Western educated women are seen as "westernized" while western-educated men are called "modernized". Women belong in private space. Public space is for men. If a woman has to enter public space, she must be covered. Why is the pres- ence of a woman in a public space such a threat? Because it is a threat to men's sexuality, the blame for which is put on women. If one regards the Koran as the primary source of Islam: the Koran puts enormous empha- sis on knowledge and the use of reason. Empowerment: External (access to literacy, political process, development) Internal (self image and confidence) There has been a lot of emphasis on the former and not enough on the latter. The attitude of how women see themselves is very important. In the Muslim world, religion is not one element-it is the matrix within which all operate. If one does not take this into account, one cannot work within this system. Some say human rights and Islam are not compatible, but these people have not studied the Koran, which is affirming of human rights. And also, the way to access the real women, can I talk about the universal declaration of human rights and liberation? No, but I can talk to her through the religion that she does believe and understand. She can see that the religion used to disempower ... . EDUCATION FOR AFGHRNS her, can be used to empower her. We can do this, if not yet within Afghanistan, than at least within refugee commnunity. Gender and Education in Afghanistan: A historical perspective and current issues Part I: Carol Le Duc, Gender Coordinator, (Swedish Committeefor Afghanistan) Ms. Le Duc said the problems with which we are confronted today are not new. Long before the current situation, Ms. Le Duc said there were many problems, and also some positive develop- ments in different time periods. She recounted the history, noting that there was a time when secular education was promoted and primary education became mandatory and was promoted throughout society. She said female participation-both as students and teachers-has shown a slow but steady growth. Still, she said education has largely been an urban phenomenon, and a privilege, not a right. Education has not been a demand by women and the community. Educa- tion did not matter enough. Ms. Le Duc said we must ask ourselves why? Perhaps we must answer the question of what we are educating boys and girls for? Relevance is an important question. The state has failed to convince the people of the value of educating sons and espe- cially daughters. They have ignored the need to create positive messages for women. Lack of a critical mass of educated women to serve as role models. Heroines exist and must be considered. Gender and Education in Afghanistan: A historical perspective and current issues Part II: Maysoon Melek, Gender Advisor to the UN in Afghanistan, UNDP Ms. Melek provided a list of social indicators for health and education, depicting very poor enrollment levels for girls. GENERRL DISCUSSION Judy Benjamin, Gender Advisor, (Women's Commissionfor Refugee Women and Chil- dren-NY): Said that private home schools are at best a stop-gap measure. They are elitist, and sometimes require fees, which exclude the poorest. The students are selected only from "safe" families who it is believed won't tell the Talibans about the school. Sima Wali (Refugee Women in Development): We have to focus on empowering the Afghan people, I don't see Afghan representatives here today advocating for education in their own country. Afghan men and women who are organizing home schools are the very ones who disagreed with formal curriculum. But no assistance is being given to them. Michael Barry, Representative of Simorgh: Barry said that national independence is an important issue that has not been addressed sufficiently. He said the main goal of education is the national independence of the country. What is happening in Afghanistan today is a war about national independence, where on one side you have a party of people who have decided to pursue a tradition of opening education to women to invest in national independence. The other side is using the goal of destruction of the education system to destroy Afghan national identity. Unless we address this issue, we will be talking in the abstract. Gary Theisen, (World Bank) Perhaps we need to focus on this as a multiple set of activities in a matrix, concerning long-term policy and planning, restructuring, provision of resources. At the same time there is need for provision of services outside of Afghanistan. -such as to provide training to people who have not been able to continue farming, and people who may be going back to Afghanistan once the problems are solved. Anders Fange (Swedish Committeefor Afghanistan) Fange said it has been proven that education for girls IS possible, despite the Taliban rule. And asked those speaking strongly against the Taliban regime if they would prefer that all activities trying to support education during Taliban control be halted. Michael Barry (Sorbonne) To maintain pressure to preserve breathing spaces is a good thing, however your strength would be greater if you bear in mind that you are speaking to people who will very grudgingly give you space because they need the political leverage. Mr. Abdul B. Azizi (Executive Director's Assistant, World Bank) Azizi said more data is needed upon which to base discussions. He said because there are a lot of schools currently active in Afghanistan, we shouldn't forget them. We should have the real statistics about the number of schools to correct our discussion and decisions about the future. Ms. Zoubida Allaoua (World Bank) Allaoua said the first order of business is gender dis- crimination. She said she had come a long way since a year ago when she thought she would never put on a Burkha and go to talk to the Taliban. She hoped the group assembled would come up with some answers of what is it we are trying to do in Afghanistan, and how we will do it. Ms. Sara Amiryar, (Georgetown University) Asked what kind of strategy would be accept- able to the World Bank. Victor Carvell (Canadian High Commission-Islamabad) In dealing with Afghanistan, you can't walk into some open-ended discussion of philosophy, you have to put specific requests on AM, EDUCATION FOR AFGHANS the table around which you negotiate. Have the collective donor group together on basic points of philosophy and principles, but don't tie everyone's shoes together on operational details. Don't have major donors walking in with different agendas-that will get you nowhere slow. Shon Cambell (Save the Children UK/Afghanistan) We should look at history: Demand for education was limited in the country, moving too fast, too loudly resulted in two steps back. But recent history: we have a generation of women in Pakistan who are educated, and as those people move back we see a demand has been created Sima Wali (Refugee Women in Development): What we need to do is make sure the people themselves are included in making decisions-not creating a system of dependence. We cannot impose our decisions based on our own viewpoint. Maysoon Melek (UNDP) Our position on equality of access has not changed, but no signifi- cant improvement on this has yet been made. Community education is still usually the only opportunity. We must understand what we call education at the moment means only between 6- 11 years old, basic education. There is no access for secondary or university education. We have very little data, in the assistance community, we have no statisticians working in this area. I would like to see some coordinated effort to establish a database on education provided by assistance community: access, school infrastructure, quality, etc. Riffat Hasan (University of Louisville) When we look at the reality on the ground, it is not sufficient to look at objective facts such as how many schools there are, and the statistics, but what is going on inside of people-what they think, what they believe. My feeling is that there is little going on in this area. In understanding the history, it is very important to take into account how Islam is being used, understood and implemented, and I feel resistance, even within this room, to the centrality of this. I disagree that the Koran has very little to do with the situation. There is not one single example of a law being promulgated in the name of Islam being reversed in any country. The word "secular" in most Islamic countries means "anti religious" this is an important word to define. The inequality that exists is not only an account of patriarchal religion, but religion is being used as a legitimization of these inequalities. Do we enter into discourse from the outside? I would contend not. In order to enter into this discourse, we have to know the views of people locally. The approach "let's put pressure on the Taliban" is like wanting to hold the hand of the oppressor and say "don't oppress". But what is being done to empower the oppressed? Even if the Taliban disappear, the issue of the rights of Muslim women will not disappear. It's not only a matter of money-it's getting over the bias of the use of religion to justify these actions. If I want to develop a course on human and women's rights, it will be very difficult in any Muslim country. But if I want to teach a course of Kor'anic ethics- constructing a framework of Muslim ethics, this would be do-able. Support of the religious people is the only way reforms will take hold. Indonesia, Bangladesh and now Iran are the only Muslim countries where (successful dissemination of birth control) happened because the religious groups supported it. Carol Le Duc (Swedish Committeefor Afghanistan) The matrix approach is happening: the different needs and approaches are being put together in a diagram which is available. We are trying to do things in education within refugee groups, but there are difficult political restric- tions to overcome. There are quite a number of formal schools (over 500 most within Taliban areas) with girls education, which we are supporting. Several colleagues have made reference to the focus on religious education: I think as the assistance community, we focus on the urban environment, based on media reports, where not a lot is happening whereas most of the aid is working within the rural environment-this creates two perspectives Among the refugee community there are new groups of people who are demanding education, people who didn't demand it in the past. The strategy has been the use of Islam -as supporting education. Rchieving Progress on the Ground (Chaired by Ashraf Ghani, Principal Anthropologist, Social Development Department, World Bank) Education in a Post/Pre-conflict Perspective: International Best Practices: Steve Holtzman, Senior Social Scientist, Post-Conflict Unit, World Bank- Social Development Vice Presidency Mr. Holtzman said people often think of individual countries as "unique". While this is true, conflict countries share a lot of characteristics and it's something we don't discuss often enough: People assume displaced people will be displaced only a short time-then it ends up being a long time. It's not development and it's not emergency, it's something else Second, there is no clear, authority accepted by everyone. The international community decides its own policy in sectors. Third: No clear long term vision,-depicted in references to "emergency" and short- term budget loss (no long-term budget available anymore). Finally, no clear understanding by donors of what they are getting into. When a country is at peace, its people are spread beyond its boundaries. We have to deal with societies as they are and how they are going to be. How can we prepare for a future we don't understand? Commentary: Dr. Sima Samar (Shuhada Foundation) Despite the difficulties, we have to find ways to provide education in Afghanistan. Dr. Samar said she believes we must use even the smallest opportunity because the lack of education continues to perpetuate the war. We cannot wait until a normalization of the situation. And we must not forget secondary education. Cooperation among agencies is essential. Instead of EDUCATION FOR RFGHANS ! k , k k 3 ; ucriticizing and competing for resources, they should be working together. Summary of Recommendations from the Islamabad Workshop: Mr. Louis-Georges Arsenault (UNICEF-Afghanistan) Mr. Arsenault presented the summary of recommen- dations from the Islamabad Workshop and said an important agenda of the Islamabad meeting was to put these issues on the international agenda again. GENERRL DISCUSSION Amaya Gillespie (UNICEF) Gillespie asked what the group was trying to answer here today and whether it would be possible focus on one thing? Steve Holtzman (World Bank) In a situation of instability you don't have ability to work on all areas you usually would. But human capital is available. So education is important at times like this. We have to give longer budget lines and a sense from the donors that things take time and this is not something that works within 6 months to a year. Louis-George Arsenault(UNICEF-Afghanistan): We are trying to maintain dialogue with the ministry of education, but as long as they have a segregated policy for education, we cannot cooperate with them. This does not mean we will stop all dialogue with them, trying to get them to change their policies. Pam Hunte (World Bank) Local Community Support is very important: Are there some concrete examples of how communities participate and what indeed they can contribute? Shoukria Haidar (NEGARR-AFGHANS): I am responsible for classes for girls in Kabul. Teaching is by women. I do not have the resources for continuing. Abdul B. Azizi (Assistant to the Executive Director, World Bank) It would be better to send a fact-finding mission to Afghanistan, to understand the teaching capacity and gather all these data and come back and make a decision. Steve Holtzman (World Bank) The dynamics of Islamic culture has to be worked out regard- ing what kind of institutional design you give on the ground. Ashraf Ghani (World Bank) There has been an implica- tion that there is discrimination in aid provided to Afghans -, 9 in favor of those residing in Pakistan. Anders Fange (Swedish Committeefor Afghanistan) When AID started, it started in Pakistan for Afghan refugees. Still, I think you can say from the beginning of the '80s there was a lot of AID directed into Afghanistan. At present, if you compare, there is aid targeted to certain i .vj regions because certain agencies are active there. So this is true but with modifications. Anne Freckleton, Department for International Devel- opment (DFID) We are working on studies of situation for refugees in Iran and Pakistan. Victor Carvell, Canadian High Commission (CIDA) It is true that less money goes to Iran than to Pakistan because traditionally the Iranian government requested this. As for Tajikistan, most of us don't have operations there. Given the scale of the number of refugees in Pakistan, they have acted with extreme generosity-not many countries would take over 3 million refu- gees. And give them the generous treatment that Pakistan gives them. Many refugees live better than the Pakistanis. Ashraf Ghani (World Bank) If there is going to be movement in the future, there is going to necessarily be some humility about the past. I think both parties bare a heavy blame-the international community for its history-when resources were available, very little was done and years were wasted. The Taliban did not arrive from nowhere-they are a manifestation of policies and choices that were taken and not taken. The second part is that Afghans bare re- sponsibility for putting the rhetoric aside and working for solutions. Today, if the Swedish Committee were not there, hundreds of thousands would be (uneducated). We can hide behind the articles of agreement and say the country has not paid its dues, but there are things we are doing in other countries, there are donor funds, the Bank has been involved in job creation for Afghanistan through a trust fund. I would have hoped there would be more questioning of the World Bank and what it is and is not doing. The Bank's Articles of Agreement say that Af- ghanistan has not paid its dues, but there are other places where the Bank has taken other actions (in a similar situation). That needs to be put squarely in front of the regional managers of the Bank. .3 EDUCRTION FOR RFGHRNS What Can be Done? (Chaired by Ralph Harbison, Former Sector Managerfor Education, South Asia Region, World Bank) Commentary: Dr. Anwar ul haq Jabarkheil, ACBAR Afghanistan is a Muslim country, and Islam has emphasized education. Over 700 verses in the Koran relate to education, and creation is based on education. Not only religious education, but also scientific and other areas are important to Islam. Islam is basically teaching how to live in the world so it must be inclusive. We need to involve more Afghans in decision making processes. Things are happening. * 1093 schools are being supported by NGOs, provide over 200,000 boys and 25,000 girls with school facilities. * 1441 schools supported by NGOs and UN for Afghan refugees, covering about 280,000 boys and 45,000 girl students. i not sufficient. We need long-term commitment from donors and to work harder on the quality of educa- tion. -Some of the success in Afghanistan has come from community dialogue with the Taliban. We should build on this. * Higher education is a must. We cannot create an education gap. W We need to use practical opportunities so that we can create examples rather than talking about too many things that we won't be able to implement. There are very good higher education opportunities for female refugees in Pakistan. In Afghanistan, no females are receiving medical education, but outside there are opportunities. International NGO Perspective: Anders Fange, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan It would be wonderful to point to a future with all kinds of hope and opportunities But in the case of Afghanistan, it's not easy to be optimistic. Even if peace came tomorrow, it would still be decades before we have a state that is able to take any kind of responsibility for an education system. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, but there are a few lights inside the tunnel. Communities are already showing the way with their own initiatives. Hopefully the interna- tional community can tap into the largest resource which exists within Afghanistan: the Afghan people. If communities are involved, repressive measures can be countered more effectively. Another light: under common programming UNICEF Save the Children, Swedish Committee have been able to start to establish work which is very promising. It has been shown that in spite of the war, absence of a functioning state, poverty and presence of anti-intellectual regimes, it is possible to move ahead with education if you use a strategy based on principles and which taps a SS.ff ES:V0 iSf into the Afghan people as resources. If we don't do it, I fear we will be sitting here in 20 years or 50 years-at least those of us not retired-we will find ourselves in a situation in which we 1- . 8 i *; > a | will have no qualified human re- .1 sources to work with. From where will the future teachers, engineers, and -, > administrators come? At present there is nothing. The crucial issue is whether we are prepared to wash our hands and say we have no part, no -i w4' j - Lfli responsibility, or whether we will do our part and take up the challenge. We can do a lot with what we have. But as long as the donors are not forthcoming, it will only be a dance around a golden coffin. So for the time being the ball is in the court of the donors. Donor Perspective: Ann Freckleton (Departmentfor International Development) Formal governmental institutions have collapsed, there's no investment at the central level, demands are rising and there is an increasing population. Liberally-minded Afghans are now citizens of other countries, unlikely to return to Afghanistan. As many of us would like to give for education, we are mindful of the need to give food aid and other assistance. Gender equity abuses make it difficult for donors to lavish funds on the country. However there ARE opportunities: there is a clear demand on which we must capitalize. There is better access to different areas of the country for aid workers, there are opportunities provided by decentralization. Although donors grumble about the problems in education and other sectoral projects, there are many good actors in the region and we should engage them to provide education. There is a negative opportunity: An EU working group on migration. The EU is concerned about the large numbers of people leaving Afghanistan. We can capitalize on that effort. It would make sense if donors promote innovation and projects that have multiplier effects and stress the need for continual improvement. Interventions that identify appropriate education needs-such as literacy for mature women, or more regular curriculum for young children, points of access-such as use of religion-and I would like to explore that more. Activities that build trust through consultation. Projects that can be monitored and evaluated. Donors are often faced with proposals that don't clearly set out what an NGO or UN agency sets out to do. If there is a clear strategy with clear outlines many donors will try to move to development-long-term funding instead of the current emergency funding. There is a role for .- .59 - EDUCRTION FOR RFGHRNS donors-lobbying and advocacy-besides just financial support. We need greater donor collaboration and with other stakeholders. We can support those who are seeking ways around the problems. GENERRL DISCUSSION Judy Benjamin (Women's Commissionfor Refugee Women and Children)-Education is a remaining constraint against repatriation of educated people. The wasting of a mind is the wasting of a human being, and we need to look at this in the same way we would look at an epidemic. H. Mohammad (CARE)-Most current programs are community based. NGOs should encourage that. It helps to improve access, gives empowerment (without depending on govern- ments), builds capacity through training of teachers etc., teaches self-reliance for the future, can later effectively deal with governments( or Taliban). * NGOs should think of subsidized "Textbook Depot System" to bring books etc. to remote areas. Teacher training centers are needed in Afghanistan * Communities are more successful in hiring female teachers than NGOs. Andrea Rugh (Save the Children USA) Rugh visited home schools in Kabul, and said when you understand the particular situation, you sometimes get ideas for practical solutions. Home Schools offer teachers who teach multi-grade classes. If you could provide materials, girls could work more at home and use teachers as a reference, rather than go to public school which are restricted and require specialized teachers who are often unavailable. Radio education is another option Louis-Georges Arsenault (UNICEF-Afghanistan) Financial commitment must be backed by political commitments. The 1998 strategy to strengthen assistance included Package programs, gap filling, flexible alternative systems, assessing quality of curriculum. This is all happening. The system can be used also if Afghanistan becomes normalized. We must prepare the ground- work with political commitments. We can work on test models and work more with local NGOs. Sima Wali (Refugee Women in Development) No assistance is given to Afghan-led NGOs but given to big, international NGOs. Many of them are doing excellent work, but if we do not support the capacity in Afghanistan, we are making a great mistake. Afghans are working with communities and it is happening. If we don't support the, then the light in tunnel will be light of an oncoming train. EDUCATION FOR AFGHANS Shoukria Haidar (NEGAAR-organization of Afghan Women) Haidar currently has a teaching program in Kabul with female teachers, and nursing training, schools for refugees in Tajikistan and North-East Afghanistan: She asked, "where can my organization turn for school materials?" Anders Fange, (Swedish Committeefor Afghanistan)If you have the money to pay for pub- lishing the books, we can publish them for you and transport them. Dr. Anne Freckleton (DFID) We usually give money to larger donors, increasingly to national NGOs, Funding brings requirements that some NGOs cannot meet. We do not want to build up parallel systems by funding too many NGOs, so we prefer indigenous groups in districts. You can submit proposals for review which will be prioritized. Tom Huschek, (U.S. Department of State) We have significantly increased funding for education for Afghans over last few years. Anyone can submit proposals. There is a need to improve quality of education curriculum. Jennifer Noyon, (U.S. Department of State) I am confused about the situation of girls: I hear now that there are high schools open for girls in Taliban areas. We need numbers so we have some agreement. Anders Fange (Swedish Committeefor Afghanistan) There are a few. 20 percent of students in Swedish Committee-supported schools are girls. On three occasions, the Taliban closed girls schools, and we solved it by negotiating with the regional powers. Two times it was relatively easy. The third time 10 schools closed. We needed written permission from Kabul to let them re-open. Most of the Taliban people in authority we met said they were not against girls' education-in fact all said they were for it and nothing in Islam prohibits girls' education. They said if they give us written permission, there will be problems in "the front" (we take that to mean Mullahs, who are against secular education in general and adamantly against girls' education-they have influence and troops under their command). Closing Remarks Ralph Harbison (World Bank) Whether the emergence of a state will produce an education system, or whether (the other way around). My suspicion is if we put our money on the first, we will fail. We must put our faith, our resources and our actions into communities. Empowerment via communities, tapping of energies and resources of people at the community level such that education and what we call . 4.. CDUCATION FOR AFGHRNS the modern state reemerges. The challenge for everybody is to figure out how to support those local community initiatives. Second, priorities: I think we shouldn't think of priorities between primary / secondary / university. No country can hope to survive unless there is a balanced environment -literacy and numeracy for a wide group, but if it does not build at post- secondary and technical levels, nobody will be able to staff the so-called modern state. Supporting primary school only, or primary school first, and then other things is a "bogeyman". Third, quality: when we say the word quality, we mean something much bigger than whether children learn to read or write, but to encompass a broader socialization where atti- tudes and values are communicated by the curriculum content and the manner of delivery of the curriculum. The manner in which children are taught has a socialization impact that is as or more important than the narrow skill base imparted. Finally, we should pay attention to Ashraf's closing comments-we all need to learn to behave. Finally, the World Bank. If all of you around this table who are empowered to act and be engaged and make a difference are frustrated because you can't do what you like, be thankful you are not in the position of those of us managers in the World Bank. Here we are dedicated to eradication of poverty, with faith that education is the central means to deliver on that mandate and our hands are tied-not by the management or staff of Bank, but tied by the owners of the Bank. We are an international cooperative, and ultimately management and staff must comply with the views of the owners. And the views of owners of moment are such that we cannot do more than our watching brief. From this point of view, your frustration ain't nothing compared to ours. More than in any other place, we must work in partnership with others. We rely on you, I wish there was more that we could do. We look towards a day when we can work with you and try to serve the people of Afghanistan. Education for Afghans December 13, 1999 The World Bank, Washington, D.C. PARTICIPANT LIST Ms. Lina Abirafeh Ms. Mehrunissa Bashir Consultant Executive Director's Assistant World Bank, Social Development World Bank, South Asia Region labirafeh@worldbank.org mbashir@worldbank.org tel: (202) 473-2558 tel: (202) 473-3471 MC 5-171 MC 13-141 Mr. Sadiq Ahmed Ms. Judy Benjamin Chief Economist Gender Advisor World Bank, South Asia Regional Vice Presidency Women's Commission for Refugee Women sahmed(worldbank.org and Children tel: (202) 458-9008 Judyb101@aol.com MC 10-206 Ms. Ruchira Bhattamishra Dr. M. Salim Alchtar Consultant ymsa@aol.com World Bank-Development Economics tel: (410) 465-8989 Research Group rbhattamishra@worldbank.org Ms. Zoubida Allaoua tel: (202) 473-5099 Country Coordinator MC 3-328 World Bank, Pakistan and Afghanistan zallaoua@worldbank.org Mr. Gregor H. Binkert tel: (202) 458-0993 Advisor to the Executive Director MC 10-339 World Bank, Central Asia Region gbinkert@worldbank.org Ms. Sara Amiryar tel: (202) 458-7056 Professor MC 13-227 Georgetown University amiryars(gunet.georgetown.edu Mr. Neil Boothby Director Mr. Louis-Georges Arsenault Children in Crisis, Division of Humanitarian Representative Response UNICEF-Afghanistan nboothby(dc.savechildren.org lgarsenault@unicef.org tel: (202) 261-4661 Mr. Abdul B. Azizi Ms. Daun Calabia Executive Director's Assistant Representative World Bank, South Asia Region UNHCR (Washington) aazizi(worldbank.org calabia@unhcr.ch tel: (202) 458-2451 MC 13-141 Ms. Shon Campbell Save the Children (USA) Mr. Michael Barry scfafghan@aol.com Representative Simorgh Ms. Helene Carlsson mjbarry@europost.org Consultant tel/fax: 33-1-6058-7359 World Bank, Gender Anchor hcarlsson@worldbank.org tel: (202) 473-4822 MC 4-452 ..4.3 EDUCrTION FOR AFGHRNS Mr. Victor Carvell Mr. Ralph Harbison Representative Sector Director Canadian High Commission, Islamabad World Bank, South Asia Education victor. carvell(dfait-maeci.gc. ca rharbison@worldbank.org Mr. Umer Daudzai tel: (202) 473-2193 Representative MC 11-228 UNDP (Afghanistan) daudzai@undp.org Dr. Riffat Hassan tel: 92-91-211-451 Professor fax: 92-91 -211 -450 University of Louisville UNDP, H 292, St SS F-10/4 riffat@louisville.edu Islamabad, Pakistan Mr. Inaamul Haque Mr. Anders Fange Executive Director Country Director World Bank, South Asia Region Swedish Committee For Afghanistan ihaque@worldbank.org cd_sca@psh.infolink.net.pk tel: (202) 458-1084 92-91-840218 / 840257 MC 13-141 Dr. Anne Freckleton Mr. Steven Holzman Representative Senior Social Scientist Department for International Development World Bank-Social Development Vice-Presidency afreckleton@dfid.gov.uk sholzman(worldbank.org tel: (202) 473-0004 Mr. Ashraf Ghani G-8-121 Principal Anthropologist World Bank, Social Development Ms. Pamela Hunte aghani@worldbank.org Social Scientist tel: (202) 458-4577 World Bank-South Asia Social Development MC 5-243 phunte@worldbank.org tel: (202) 458-2928 Ms. Hawa Ghaus MC 10-789 Global Associate Feminist Majority Foundation Mr. Tom Huschek hghaus(feminist.org Representative tel: 703-522-2214 State Department, US Embassy Islamabad fax: 703-522-2219 hushektj(state.gov 1600 Wilson Blvd. Suite 801 Arlington, VA 22209 Dr. Anwar ul haq Jabarkheil Chairman Ms. Amaya Gillespie Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief UNICEF (ACBAR) agillespie(unicef.org direct.lbndins.pdh.brain.net.pk Ms. Rachel Goldstein-Rodriquez Ms. Jennifer Jackman Representative Director of Policy and Research UNHCR (Washington) Feminist Majority Foundation williamr@unhcr.ch jjackman@feminist.org 703-522-2214 Ms. Mona Habib fax: 703-522-2219 Research Associate American Institutes for Research Mr. Mohammad Abdi Jama mhabib@air.org Representative for Afghanistan tel: (202) 342-5000 World Health Organization American Institutes for Research wr@who.afg.org 3333 K Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 Ms. Ellen Van Kalmthout Project Officer for Education UNICEF-Afghanistan ekalmthoutgunicef. org Ms. Helen Kirby Ms. Ossai Miazad Education Adviser International Campaign Organizer Save the Children USA Feminist Majority Foundation hkirbyCsavechildren.org.pk omiazadgfeminist.org Ms. Christine Knudsen Mr. Johnathan D. Mueller Program Officer Representative Children in Crisis, Save the Children (USA) State Department, Refugee Bureau cknudsen@dc.savechildren.org j mueller(state.gov tel: (202) 663-1039 Dr. Elisabeth Kvitashvili fax: (202) 663-1530 Representative USAID Ms. Yoko Nagashima ekvitashvili(usaid.gov Operations Analyst World Bank, East Asia Human Development Dr. AbdulWaseh Latifi ynagashima@worldbank.org Preservation Department Assistant tel: (202) 458-0463 Georgetown University MC 8-440 latifi(gunet.georgetown.edu tel: (202) 687-6481 Ms. Homira Nassery Lauinger Library Sector Information Officer Box 5711174 World Bank, Human Development Network, Washington D.C. 20057-1174 Health, Nutrition and Population hnassery@worldbank.org Ms. Carol Le Duc tel: (202) 458-7353 Gender Coordinator G 3-002 Save the Children gender@brain.net.pk Ms. Mieko Nishimizu Regional Vice President Ms. Zita Lichtenberg World Bank, South Asia Region Communications Associate mnishimizu@worldbank.org World Bank, South Asia External Affairs tel: (202) 458-0600 zlichtenberg@worldbank.org MC 10-829 tel: (202) 458-7953 MC 8-842 Ms. Jennifer Noyon Afghanistan Human Rights Officer Mr. Eric W Luftman State Department, Afghanistan Desk International Economist jcnoyon@state.gov Office of Development Finance, tel: (202) 647-9552 U.S. Department of State luftmanew@state.gov Mr. Yusuf Nuristani Managing Director Mr. Alex Mahoney Afghan German Basic Education (AGBAS-ED) Representative nurista@brain.net.pk USAID tel:0092-91-843595 amahoney(usaid.gov fax: 0092-091-842693 G.P.O. Box 1270 Mr. David Allen Mead Peshawar, Cantt. Pakistan Senior Counsel World Bank, Legal Department, South Asia Mr. Abdurrahaman Paiman dmead@worldbank.org Adjunct tel: (202) 458-1731 GeorgeWashington University MC 6-531 Ms. Zora Rasekh Ms. Maysoon Melek Senior Health Researcher Gender Advisor to the UN in Afghanistan Physicians for Human Rights UNDP zrasekh@aol.com maysoon@undpafg.org.pk 45 EDUCATION FOR RFGHnNS Ms. May Rihani Mr. Gary Theisen Senior Vice President, Director of Gender Senior Education Specialist and Development World Bank, South Asia Education Academy for Educational Development gtheisen@worldbank.org mrihani@aed.org tel: (202) 473-7630 tel: (202) 884-8292 MC 11-213 Academy for Educational Development 1825 Connecticut Av Ms. Anne Tully Washington D.C. 20009 Country Officer World Bank, Pakistan and Afghanistan Mr. Hamid Rohilai atully@worldbank.org Disbursement Assistant tel: (202)458-5952 World Bank MC 10-255 hrohilaiaworldbank.org tel: (202) 458-4129 Ms. SimaWali MC 7-760 President Refugee Women in Development Ms. Andrea Rugh refwid@erols.com Save the Children USA tel: (703) 931-6442 abrugh(aol.com 5225 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 502 tel: (301) 929-5141 Washington DC 20015 Ms. Annemieke Ruigrok Mr. Andrew Wilder First Secretary Field Office Director for Pakistan and Afghanistan Embassy of the Netherlands Save the Children USA annemieke.ruigrok@minbuza.nl awilder(savechildren.org.pk tel: (202) 274-2603 tel: 92-51-825674 fax: 92-51-279210 Dr. Sima Samaar P.O. Box 1952 Director 7-A, Street 58, F-7/4 Shuhada Organization Islamabad, Pakistan simas@brain.net.pk tel/fax: 92-81-829322 Ms. Carolyn Winter Shuhada Clinic Senior Education Specialist Alamdar Road World Bank- Human Development Network, Nasir Abad Education Quetta, Pakistan cwinter(worldbank.org tel: (202) 473-1281 Ms. Haidar Shoukria G-8-049 Founder NEGAAR Mr. DaoudYaqub tel/fax: 33 198 35 0756 Senior Associate Afghanistan Foundation Mr. Sirajuddin Siddiqui dyaqub@afghanistanfoundation.org BBC World Service The Afghanistan Foundation bbaep@pes.comsats.net.pk 209 Pennsylania Ave, S.E. BBC World Service Washington, D.C., 20003 8-Abdara Road P.O. Box 946 Ms. Melek Zimmer University Town, Peshawar, Pakistan Representative USAID Ms. Wendy Smith mzimmer@usaid.gov Technical Advisor Children Affected by Armed Conflict Mr. Damian Zimmermann wendy@intrescom.org World Bank, Pakistan and Afghanistan tel: (212) 551-3057 dzimmermangworldbank.org tel: (202) 473-1695 MC 10-250 Education for Rfghons: World Bank Workshop sees "Lights in the Tunnel" Lamenting current obstacles and pinning hopes on a better future are activities that have no real place in the latest discussions on Afghanistan's education crisis. In fact, participants attending a workshop Monday at the World Bank in Washington reached a consensus that there must be a shift in focus from describing the enormity of the problems and what can't be done, to building understanding of and support for what can and is currently being done by a variety of committed actors. Many present on Monday said the opportunities to make a differ- ence in the lives of childreneparticularly girlszeand the predicted devastating effects of inaction, were too great to waste time waiting for significant national education developments in this war-torn country. The workshop was the second on the subject of education for Afghans held by the World Bank this year. The first was held in the Islamabad office in February. Both were sponsored jointly by the Bank, UNICEF, Save the Children USA and the Swedish Committee for Af- ghanistan. The workshops are part of the efforts of World Bank staff to remain updated on the situation in Afghanistan and to support current humanitarian efforts being undertaken by other development partners. Officially these activities are known as maintaining a "Watching Brief", and they are in accordance with the Bank's guidelines for working with countries in conflict. World Bank operations in Afghanistan have been suspended since the 1979 Soviet invasion, and have remained so through continued fighting and absence of a national government since the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. In addition, Afghanistan entered into non-accrual status, failing to make its payments to the World Bank, in 1992. Participants in the workshop on Monday included representatives from NGOs and UN agenciesabased in the US, Europe and Pakistanwdonors, academics, a few activists, and World Bank staff. According to Zareen Naqvi, an Islamabad-based economist working on the World Bank Afghanistan team, the workshop met its objectives of raising awareness of the most important issues, helping colleagues based in organization headquarters to be on the "same wavelength" as those working on the ground in Afghanistan and its neighboring countries, and helping the World Bank to better understand what role it might play in the future in Afghanistan. "This is an effort to support the informal discussion that is going on among people work- ing on Afghanistan. Providing them with an opportunity to get together and share informa- tion," said Naqvi. Some of the liveliest discussion of the workshop surrounded "on the ground" stories told by people working in Afghanistan which intrigued and surprised some of their US and Euro- pean-based colleagues, in particular stories of the successful opening and operating of girls - ..7 EDUCATION FOR AFGHANS schools in Taliban-controlled areas. Such stories indicated that, although efforts were certainly uphill battles, increasing girls' education under the current regime should not be seen as an impossibility. One of the strongest themes of the workshop was the need to harness community support for education in Afghanistan. An increasing demand has been shown by communities for education for both boys and girls, and while community-run schools are the preferred develop- ment model in many other countries-in Afghanistan they are possibly the only hope for thousands of children "It would be wonderful to point to a future with all kinds of hope and opportunities, but in the case of Afghanistan, it's not easy to be optimistic," said Anders Fange, Country Director for the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan. "There is no light at the end of the tunnel, but there are a few lights inside the tunnel. Communities are already showing the way with their own initiatives. Hopefully the international community can tap into the largest resource which exists within Afghanistan: the Afghan people." As another "light", Fange pointed to the work of organizations like UNICEF, Save the Children and the Swedish Committee which have been building and supporting schools, teacher training and provision of materials among other initiatives both within Afghanistan and in refugee communities. In particular, in the past 3 years, the UN has developed a Strategic Framework to improve coordination among countries and organizations involved in development for Afghanistan. Under the framework, the method of "Principled Common Programming" is working to make sure assistance is cooperative and complimentary and that information and resources are shared and combined most efficiently. There were spirited challenges from NGOs based in Pakistan for multilateral organiza- tions and donors to work closely with local NGOs and to remember that the drive for improv- ing education in Afghanistan must come from within the country if it is to be accepted by the people. Another commonly-raised issue was the need for donors to act with urgency-as the education system is in a crisis situation-but to think (and to fund) long-term-to develop a sound education system in Afghanistan which has been failing since long before the Taliban regime's edicts banning girls from education. However to attract more donor funding, many participants agreed that donors needed a heightened awareness of successful education efforts ongoing in Afghanistan, efforts which go largely unreported by the media. Yet some participants, in private conversations, admitted that they could not allow journalists to observe their projects, since doing so could draw unwanted attention from those authorities who were opposed to girls education in Afghanistan. In the end it seemed that the kind of "informal" information sharing, like that done at the workshop, was the best hope for raising the support and funding needed to advance the cause of education for Afghans. For its part, the World Bank so far has provided a $350,000 post-conflict fund grant to the UNDP for economic and sector studies, workshops and seminars on issues related to Afghani- stan, and to fund a pilot program for capacity building of Afghan women's NGOs based in Pakistan. It has also sponsored, with partners, other workshops on Afghanistan on issues such as social development, trade and infrastructure. "It has been shown that in spite of the war, an absence of a functioning state, poverty and presence of anti-intellectual regimes, it is possible to move ahead with education [in Afghani- stan]," said Fange. "If we don't do it, I fear we will be sitting here in 20 years... and we will find that we have no qualified human resources in Afghanistan to work with. From where will the future teachers, engineers, and scientists come? The crucial issue is whether we are prepared to wash our hands and say we have no part, no responsibility, or whether we will do our part and take up the challenge." For more detailed information on the workshop and its participants, contact Damian Zimmermann at X31695 or Zita Lichtenberg at X87953. .49