Brittany—Each member of ourgroup had a specific role to execute for our project. Ryan and Violeneresearched information and statistics that focused on the literacy andilliteracy on the youth of Afghanistan. Myself and Micaela researchedinformation and statistics that focused on the adult literacy and illiteracy inAfghanistan. Once each member gathered a significant amount of data andresearch we provided Ryan with our findings in which he used to make thePowerPoint presentation. After presenting, it was my duty to put together thefinal report with the help of Ryan.
As a collective effort, we all added ourown information to this report individually that we found during our research, thenwe collectively constructed our action plan.Ryan— Eliminatecultural barriers and closeminded thinking set forth from generations ofsegregation and oppression—It isultimately up to Afghans, not the US, and not the international communityto change the fate of their people. While foreign aid dollars can providemeaningful support, local communities will ultimately have to produce andsupport the leaders of tomorrow who will help counter the twisted appeals ofterrorist recruiters, fight to find ways for communities to prosper, and bringforth a future in which Afghanistan offers more of its people the promise of abetter life for their children. Helping to support the efforts of localleaders such as Fawzia Koofi and organizations such as ReWA, the Ministry of HigherEducation, and UNESCO, this is what the Afghan people need to get behind.
Thesepeople and organizations can only do so much, it is up to the Afghan people ona local, individual level, to change their close minded thinking and barriersset forth from religious extremist. Afghan will only move towards a positivefuture when its people wholeheartedly get behind the movement for change. Micaela— Create a safer environment- Afghanistan isone of the worst affected countries by violence against schools. There havebeen incidents of attacks on education, violence on students, which is anotherreason why children don’t attend school. The death rates of teachers, studentsand education employees are the highest in the world. Ryan—There are organizations such as REWA (Refugee Woman’s Alliance) who are fighting against terrorism, andpromoting education. ReWA is a non-profit, multi-ethnic organization thatpromotes inclusion, independence, personal leadership, and strong communitiesby providing refugee and immigrant men, women and children and their families’with culturally and linguistically appropriate services. “ReWA advocates forsocial justice, public policy changes, and equal access to services whilerespecting cultural values and the right to self-determination”(ReWa.
org—Mission Statement). It’s the efforts from organizations such as ReWa,and leaders of change in Afghanistan, such as Fawzia Koofi (an Afghanpolitician and women’s rights activist who fights for the rights and enablementof the Afghan people to a safer, equal, and democratic society, especiallypertaining to education) that are necessary to make it possible to eliminatethe education crisis in Afghanistan. Micaela—The action plan that should be implemented to reduce theilliteracy rate in Afghanistan is as follows: Invest in infrastructure- There were many insufficient schools inAfghanistan. While less than half of the schools were conducted in permanentbuildings, the rest of the classes were held in UNICEF shelters or were “desertschools” – students and teachers gathered in a desert near the village. Ryan— In particular, investing in libraries would be a keycomponent for further increasing literacy in Afghanistan. Libraries stand as asafe and encouraging environment enabling people to continue their studies who can’tdo so elsewhere. As a course of action, on the track to creating a betterinfrastructure, if able nations around the world, such as the U.
S. were willingto donate to the cause, fixing Afghan schools would be a simpler task for theeconomically challenged Afghanistan. We are a globally dependent society and weall prosper more when we all do well together. If the schools were better inAfghanistan, it is guaranteed to have a positive effect on learning and onliteracy which in return would yield a better Afghanistan.Vee— A five year plan called the NationalHigher Education Strategic Plan (NHESP) was also enforced to bring Afghanistanout of illiteracy. The mission of this program is to aid reasonable access tohigher education for all who are academically qualified, establish institutionsthat provide high quality teaching, research, and service, produce graduateswho are competitive in a global economy, contribute to economic growth, socialdevelopment, nation building, and the stability of the country (Padilla, 2017).Vee—Anorganization founded for the development of adult education in Afghanistan isthe Afghan National Association for Adult Education (ANAFAE).
The Association aimsto promote strategies and programs of adult education. It specifically focuseson literacy learning, basic education, further vocational training, andcontinuing civic education. Brittany—The first phase began in the capital city of Bamiayanprovince and expanded to nine provinces.
The second phase of program wasimplemented in an additional nine provinces. Not only did the ELA programincrease literacy rate but it also expanded the opportunities to graduates bytraining them in vocational skills. The third phase of the program willcontinue to March 2018 aiming to provide literacy to 600,000 learners across 30provinces. Brittany—In response to these literacy problems, an educationalorganization called UNESCO implemented programs to reduce the illiteracy ratein Afghanistan. One of many programs is the program for Enhancement of LiteracyAfghanistan (ELA). The objective of this program is to improve the level ofliteracy, numeracy and vocational skills of the adult population is all 34provinces. Since 2008 the program remained the largest in the educational division.
It also allowed 60% of female youth and adults to graduate (Padilla, 2017). Since 2008 the program was executed in threephases. Brittany—The literacy rate is due to many factors such as womennot being able to attend school due to the Taliban rule which left them tomanage the house hold, travelling and security problems – during this time itwas difficult to travel to school because walking distances would be far,schools weren’t in remote areas and it wasn’t safe because of the wars of the Taliban.Another major reason is there is a lack of trained teachers to assist students.There is also not enough books to distribute to students. Brittany—Theroot problem of low literacy is within the educational system.
Afghanistan hasone of the lowest literacy rates in the world. Projected at about 31% of theadult population. Adults are considered to be over 15 years of age. The femaleliteracy levels are on average 17% and male literacy rates average about 45% (Padilla,2017).
Brittany—Worldleaders of The United Nations declared their intention to end extreme poverty,inequality, and climate change through achieving 17 goals by 2030 throughthe Goals for Sustainable Development. Out of the 17 goals, my group chose toemphasize on goal number 4.6 – By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantialproportion of adults, both men and woman, achieve literacy and numeracy. Wehighlighted most of the problems and statistics on Afghanistan.
