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NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team commander and a Dallas native, and Andrew Haviland, Nangarhar PRT senior civilian from Oakton, Va., met with Dr. Allah Dad, Nangarhar’s education line director, to discuss his future plans for the province Jan. 11 at the education directorate in Jalalabad.
The PRT members were impressed with Allah Dad’s plans, and stressed the importance of capitalizing on success and using his knowledge and outlines as a template for other Afghans.
“It’s important for children to go to school, but it’s also important for the men and women in Afghanistan to learn,” said Anderson. “While the children learn about math and Pashto and Islam, the adults — the men and women — especially in the directorates and districts, must learn about the government and how the government works.”
Currently, Nangarhar province has 696 schools. Only 369 of those schools are in dedicated buildings.
“When people request a school, sometimes we open it in a mosque, sometimes in someone’s guest room, sometimes just under a tree,” said Allah Dad.
Allah Dad said his main goal is to build facilities for the 327 schools without established buildings. However, limited resources have made this goal a long, arduous process that can take years to fully realize.
Funding for projects is provided by the central government in Kabul. Once given their budget, the provinces are given some freedom in determining the most effective way to spend their money.
“The government budget I have allows me to build 15 schools next year,” Allah Dad said. “It’s now my job to determine where we will build those schools in the province.”
In addition to discussing his ambitious goal for school construction, the director stressed his support for female education.
Afghans have a saying, “if you teach a man, you’re only teaching him; if you teach a woman, you’re teaching the whole family.” Allah Dad has truly taken this saying to heart.
According to the director, of the 537,000 Nangarhar students in school, 190,000 are girls, a high figure considering females weren’t allowed an education less than ten years ago. However, Allah Dad isn’t content with the status quo.
“I do have a large number of female students, but I’m still not satisfied with that,” Allah Dad said. “I want to make it 50-50.”
While percentages of children in school and the number of schools in the province provide valuable insight into the state of education in Nangarhar, Allah Dad contends that the quality of education needs to improve, along with more quantifiable aspects.
“Intellectuals say in order to improve a community, you need two things: base knowledge and a mindset of patriotism, honesty and loyalty,” Allah Dad explained. “Honesty and loyalty are a little weak in this country, so I go to schools, speak with teachers, encourage them and let them know it’s their responsibility to do their jobs as they’re supposed to.”
| Date Taken: | 01.11.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 01.12.2011 19:08 |
| Story ID: | 63445 |
| Location: | NANGARHAR PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Nangarhar education official touts successes, shares goals, by TSgt Stacy Simon, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
