Education in Afghanistan

1
Education in Afghanistan

• By Sean P. Gresh

2
Structure of school system

• Primary
• Type of school providing this education Primary
  School
• Length of program in years 6
• Age level from 7 to 13
• Admission to secondary education is based on an
  entrance examination.
• Age of entry 6
• Age of exit 12-13
• Middle Secondary
• Type of school providing this education Middle
  School
• Length of program in years 3
• Age level from 13 to 16

3
Structure of school system

• Upper Secondary
• Type of school providing this education High
  School
• Length of program in years 3
• Age level from 16 to 19
• Certificate/diploma awarded Baccaluria
• School education style
• Secondary education covers six years divided into
  two three-year cycles
• grades 7 to 9, studied at middle school (Maktabeh
  Motevaseteh)
• grades 10 to 12 at high school (Doreyeh Aali).
• At the end of the first cycle, pupils sit for an
  examination.
• At the end of the second cycle, they sit for the
  Baccaluria.
• Technical secondary education is offered in the
  lower and upper secondary cycle at middle schools
  in such subjects as Commerce, Applied Arts,
  Teacher Training, Agriculture and Aeronautics.
  Courses lead to a Bacilluria level qualification.

4
INSTITUTION TYPES CREDENTIALS

• Types of higher education institutions
• University
• Institute
• Polytechnic
• Teacher-Training College
• Graduation and higher education credentials
• Baccaluria (high school diploma)
• Bachelor's Degree
• The first stage of higher education in Arts,
  Education, Social Science, Science and
  Agriculture, to the award of the Bachelor's
  Degree after four years Engineering, Veterinary
  Medicine, five years Medicine, seven years
  (including one year pre-medical and one year
  internship).
• Master's Degree
• after two years' study following the Bachelor's
  Degree (three to four years in Medicine) to the
  Master's Degree.
• There is an entrance examination.
• Candidates for postgraduate studies must have
  obtained very high Bachelor grades and passed an
  entrance examination.

5
INSTITUTION TYPES CREDENTIALS

• Doctor's Degree (doctorate)
• Programs leading to a Doctorate (Doctori) in
  Architecture, Arts, Engineering, Natural Sciences
  and Social Sciences are conferred after three
  years' study following the Master's Degree.
• Teacher education Training of pre-primary and
  primary/basic school teachers
• Primary school teachers
• trained for two years in Teacher Training
  Colleges on completion of upper secondary school.
  
• Secondary school teachers and Lower / middle
  school teachers
• follow a two-year course after grade 12 at a
  higher Teacher Training College.
• only selected graduates of the Teacher Training
  Colleges are admitted to the last two years.
• Higher education teachers
• possess a Bachelor's degree , Master's degree or
  a Doctorate

6
INSTITUTION TYPES CREDENTIALS

• Higher education
• Higher education is mainly provided by six
  universities (including a University of Islamic
  Studies), one Agricultural Institute, one
  Polytechnic, one State Medical Institute and
  teacher training colleges.
• For several years higher education had been
  forbidden for girls in the areas controlled by
  the Taliban.
• For the first time in several years February
  2002, more than 1000 women students took
  university entrance examinations.

7
GRADING SYSTEM

• Usual grading system in secondary school
• Full Description 0-100.
• Marking is on a percentage scale
• 40 is the minimum pass mark for individual
  subjects
• the minimum average is 55 of the sum of the
  highest marks for all subjects.
• Main grading system used by higher education
  institutions
• Full Description 0-100
• Alaa 100-86
• Aali 85-66
• Khoob 65-50.
• Marking is on a percentage scale
• 40 is the minimum pass mark for individual
  subjects
• the minimum average is 55 of the sum of the
  highest marks for all subjects.

8
Trying To Rebuild the Education System

• War, hardship, and migration have disrupted
  education for many Afghans.
• Less than half the population is literate.
• Women are especially disadvantaged, with as many
  as 80 percent unable to read or write.
• Out of 4.5 million eligible school-age children,
  only 900,000 boys and 90,000 girls are in primary
  school.
• However, with the return of refugees and
  internally displaced persons, the number of
  registered students is rising.
• About four out of five schools need extensive
  repairs. Only a third have toilets for pupils.
• The special needs of females are not met and the
  routes to school are insecure in many areas.