One of the basic factors that have been emphasized the most after the downfall of Taliban in Afghanistan has been education. And there have been developments as well in this regard. Nonetheless there are still serious concerns regarding the evolution and quality of education and the capability of the children to avail the opportunities of getting education.
Our country Afghanistan is one of the countries where proper attention has not been paid to education sector. One of the basic reasons has been the continuous instability overwhelming the society. The wars and conflicts - national, regional and international – that have been using Afghan land as their theater have made the development in social and educational fields suffocate to a large extent. Starting from Soviet invasion in 1979, one can count myriads of tussles and disturbances hampering the establishment of satisfactory education system. The problems, more basic in nature, have been the focal point of people’s concentration rather than the education system.
Lack of schools, skilled teachers, teaching materials, books and even lack of interest of the people to send their children to work are some of the major problems that have proved to be hurdle in the development of education sector. The schools that have been established in the major cities even face these problems, while, the condition of the schools in some of the provinces is pathetic.
For example, the primary school students in Paktika province are still facing shortage of textbooks even after more than the six months into their academic year. The situation is really alarming while the concerned authorities are not ready to understand the gravity of the situation and avoid taking responsibilities. Mohammadullah Himatyar, the spokesperson for the education department recently shifted blame to the ministry concerned for the shortage of textbooks in the province.
He said the ministry officials had promised to deliver books in time but the commitment was not honoured. A few containers of books reached the province recently and he ensured that the books would be distributed to students. Meanwhile, Kabir Haqmal, the Education Ministry spokesman, said they had started distribution of primary classes’ books to all provinces, including Paktika. Within two months every school will be provided with books, he vowed. Nonetheless, the promises alone would never solve the problem; therefore, the concerned authorities must take practical steps to solve the issue immediately before it is too late.
It is really important that the concerned authorities must pay full attention to the development of the education as it is a tested fact that the nations that have gotten strong hold of education in the process of their evolution have been able to achieve remarkable gains. It has been through proper development in the education sector and education system that such countries are standing much apart from others with well-being and dignity kneeling before them submissively. Through their modern education system they have not only served humanity by opening new vistas of knowledge but have also facilitated their people by bringing comfort and facilities on their door steps. Apart from that, they are on the driving seat regarding the international socio-political scenario, while the countries that lack proper emphasis on education are left much behind in almost all the fields of life.
At the present time nothing is so urgently required for our nation as modern education – Education that should be based on up to date information, analysis and developments in different fields of knowledge and must be aided with modern technology; education that can give the coming generation of Afghanistan an outlook other than extremism. And all these have to be provided to the people of Afghanistan without charging them much, as majority of the people are already suffering severely under the reign of deteriorated socio-economic situation.