Where We Were

Decades of war, civil unrest, internal conflicts and political instability in Afghanistan have destroyed the basic social service delivery mechanisms of the country. Education, being the most vulnerable social sector against insecurity,

violence and discontinuity, has been severely affected as a result.

In 2002, the newly established Government of Afghanistan inherited a disabled and defunct education system, which was as follows:

• Less than one million students, 20,000 teachers with almost no female articipation;
• 34, 00 schools–majority with unusable buildings;
• No standard national curriculum or textbooks;

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• Only four Teacher Training Colleges with 400 students;
• Only 1500 boys enrolled in Technical and Vocational Schools, and
• 220 unregulated Madrassas without any formal curriculum.