Education System in Afghanistan

The demand for education in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban has continuously exceeded the expectations. More than 6.2 million students attend Grades 1-12 today, the largest figure in the history of Afghanistan! Female participation is also increasing, approximately 2.2 million students are girls which has exceeded the pre-Taliban period. There is an acute shortage of teachers, many teachers do not receive their salaries on time and have little or no training but continue to come to schools and teach the best they can. Currently from 68% of students Young girls, who suffer a 70% illiteracy rate in Afghanistan and 82% of female students in Afghanistan drop out of school before completion of grade 6. Education is compulsory up to the age of nine and free to all students through grade 12. Schools and teachers salaries are paid for by the central government. The education system in Afghanistan usually starts at the age of 5, the first two years children are given with some Islamic teachings at the madrasah. Then from the age of 7, children are sent for primary education which is of around six years, G1-6. After the students have finished their primary school, they have to go through two years of Middle school education which is known as “Maktabeh Motevaseteh”, which is from G7-9. The last cycle of school life in Afghanistan is secondary school which is also known as “Doreyeh Aali”, from Grade 10- 12. After this duration the student is given a choice either to go on further studies at university or to work as a teacher or can work anywhere in government. Sometimes government even provide scholarships for the students who managed to finish the high school with good credits like 90% or above, and are sent to other countries for further studies. According to the Human Development Index, Afghanistan is the 15th least developed country in the world. This is due to decades of war and abandonment by the international community, but on the positive note the country is being carefully rebuilt. Since 2002 Afghanistan is going through a nationwide rebuilding process, and despite some setbacks due to the ongoing Taliban insurgency the education sector is improving gradually. New educational institutions are established all across the country and more students being enrolled. By 2011 there were 10.2 million students who were attending schools in Afghanistan, a country which has about 30 million people living in it.