Comprehensive Study of Higher Education in Afghanistan

Transcription

1 Comprehensive Study of Higher in Afghanistan Rahima Baharustani December 2012 Research and Planning Department

2 Disclaimer: The views of the author expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the official position of the AISA. Conversion rate of 1$ = 50 AFS has been taken into consideration throughout the paper. I

3 Table of content DECLARATIONS...III EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...IV INTRODUCTION...VII CHAPTER: 1. EDUCATION IN AFGHANISTAN...1 SCHOOLING IN AFGHANISTAN...2 GENERAL EDUCATION...3 VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS...4 LITERACY ACTIVITIES...4 CHAPTER: 2. HIGHER EDUCATION...5 PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS...6 PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS...6 MEASURES OF HIGHER EDUCATION...8 CHAPTER: 3. INVESTMENT AND RETURN GRADUATE STUDENTS (LOCAL)...18 GRADUATE STUDENTS (FOREIGN)...20 REASONS BEHIND UNEMPLOYED GRADUATES...22 EXPAND HIGHER EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES...23 WOMEN S HIGHER EDUCATION...23 SWOT ANALYSIS...24 CHALLENGES...25 CHAPTER: 4 INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES CHAPTER: 5. RECOMMENDATIONS BY SURVEYED ENTITIES CONCLUSION SOURCES CONSULTED APPENDICES APPENDIX A...35 APPENDIX B...48 II

4 Declarations I would like to acknowledge all those who helped me complete this report. I want to thank the top management of AISA, especially Mr. Wafiullah Iftikhar the president of Afghanistan investment support agency for supporting the Research, Planning and Policy department and Mr. Junaidullah Shahrani (Research, Policy and Planning Director), for his supervision, encouragement and insightful comments. Thanks are due to the Ministry of Higher education and individual higher education institutes and other individuals who helped me in getting the required information. Last but not the least; I would like to thank all the respondents and my colleagues, because without their contribution this research paper may not has been possible. III

5 Executive summary Higher education has become an important driver in today s competitive world, as to improve employment within any society; there is a need for quality education within higher education institutes. Without any doubt it could be very well stated that education is a technical competency along with mental, moral and aesthetic development. It may include subject specific guidelines from trained professional teachers, subject based curriculum determines the domain of knowledge for different age groups. Basically, it is based upon the maturity and proficiency of mind. Therefore, the entire educational activities are centered up on advancement of knowledge, general awareness, and understanding of latest technical updates. These activities could be classified as recreational, educational and society oriented activities since the prime aim of such activities is building strong foundation for proficient future. Fifth century Athenian philosopher 'Socrates' said "education means bringing out of the ideas of universal validity which are latent in the mind of everyman. The point is very clear that education can be termed as aggregation of all methods whichever enhance capability of a person. Educated citizens can be key determinant of a nation s development which builds economy and reduces poverty, as more educated citizens has capacity to innovate, learn quickly and capable of dealing with changing circumstances. For these purpose to be attained it s important to have quality education that could response to the market need of the society. The history of modern education in Afghanistan goes back to the year 1863 by continuous efforts of Sayed Jamal-ud-din Afghan in the era of Amir Sher Ali Khan. Before that, there was no modern education in the country as people were educating themselves in religious schools (Madrassas or Masajids), by Islamic teachers known as Mullahs. At the same period, girls education was almost negligible in Afghanistan. King Amanullah Khan was the one who for the first time addressed education for girls. Current education system in Afghanistan is run by Ministry of whose vision is to develop human capital, based on Islamic principles and respect for human rights by providing equitable access to quality education for all to enable them actively participate in sustainable development, economic growth, stability and security in Afghanistan. in Afghanistan is comprised of general education (private schools, public schools, and night shift schools), religious education, vocational education, teacher training education, private Islamic education, and literacy programs. Over the past few years significant efforts have been made in the education sector. The education system in Afghanistan has been improving as new public and private education institutions have been established. Furthermore total number of teachers and students has increased. Similarly improvement has been seen in higher education as compared to the last decade. Public educational institutes increased, private higher institutes established as currently there are 91 higher education institutes out of which 31 are public (19 universities and 12 higher education IV

6 Institutes) and 60 are private higher educational institues across the country. Higher education institutes are mostly offering Bachelor programs, however there are certain universities which offer Master level programs too. Besides, these institutions are also offering diploma courses such as Diploma in Information Technology, Diploma in English Language and etc. Constitution of Afghanistan states is the right of all citizens of Afghanistan, which shall be provided up to the level of Under-Graduate (lisâns), free of charge by the state. However private higher education institutes can charge certain amount as fee, but how much there is no range limit given by Ministry of Higher. There is excessive supply of graduates within the economy, but demand is for high or skillful educated people. This report measures education in terms of quality: learners, environment, physical facility, efficiency, violence, content, security, professional lecturers, financing and governance. In Afghanistan there are three categories of educated people: Firstly, those who attained higher education from public higher education institutions free of cost, Secondly, those who had financial capacity and joined the private higher education institutions, and Thirdly, students who acquired higher education from abroad either in the form of public scholarships or self finance. People who have acquired higher education from abroad has captured the market and it is because the public higher institutions are using outdated curriculum and materials which cannot fulfill the market need effectively, while some private institutions are not focusing on quality of education rather are just profit oriented. Majority of graduates are of the view that the public higher institutions are far better than private higher education institutions and stated arguments such as: quality of education is better, makes students to study, have professional & highly qualified lecturers, and have equipped library as compared to private higher institutions. Few were of the view that private are good in terms of providing quality education to the nation, provides education in globally recognized languages, offer more facilities to students, use new methods of instruction and modern curriculum structure based on international standards. Others stated that both private and private are good in certain aspects such as: public are good, as the certificates are more valuable, makes students study, have highly qualified lecturers and is free of fee. While some of private higher education institutes are good in terms of internationally standard curriculum, introduces new modern education and new methods of teachings and etc. Gender inequality or discrimination in Afghanistan is in its peak as females are discriminated in many areas, one of which is lack of access to education. Investment opportunities in education system of Afghanistan are there in the areas of standardization of current education system according to international standards and offering wide range of facilities required. For example establishing institutions that could provide quality education and responsive to market demand, establishing higher education institutes for girls, partnership with current higher educational institutes to improve its quality, Providing more facilities such as: internet enabled libraries, medical laboratories, transport and any other facilities related to new technology for students. V

7 Despite the achievements, there are a number of challenges that the higher education sector is facing: Unpredictable security situation which affects the learning environment, Low quality institutions which create bad reputation to other institutions, Lack of opportunities by Ministry of Higher, huge number of out-of-school or higher institutions children/youths, rural and urban disparities, low quality education and administration. Timely decision making is hampered by lack of an adequate information and communication system and complicated, lengthy procurement and lack of trained staff are among the major challenges. Since the cost of higher education is high, low income groups cannot afford it. Books are available in library but very limited and no modern science books are there. Less capacity of campus as higher education institutes cannot absorb more applicants, high costs, lack of government support, and unavailability of qualified lecturers constitute major challenge in the society. Girls education and lack of availability of female teachers, Destruction of schools especially of females are among other challenges facing education system of Afghanistan. VI

8 Introduction There is no doubt that education is a technical competency along with mental, moral and aesthetic development. It may include subject specific guidelines from trained professional teachers. Subject based curriculum determines the domain of knowledge for different age groups. Basically, it is based upon the maturity and proficiency of minds. So, the entire educational activities are centered upon advancement of knowledge, general awareness, and understanding of latest technical updates. is gaining more and more importance in today s competitive scenario. Students work hard to make their future brighter through investing in higher education. Workers usually complete their formal education before joining the labor force, but investments in human capital does not necessarily end at that time. Through training, many workers continue to improve their skills throughout their lives. further leads to a just, civil and sustainable society. Finally it builds the national economy, keeps the citizens out of poverty and leads the nation into a development phase. More education in the labor force increases output in two ways: it adds skills to labor that increases the capacity to innovate in ways to enhance productivity. Secondly education places human capital at the core of economic growth and asserts that the positive externalities generated by human capital not only produce higher productivity for more educated workers, but also for less or uneducated labors. Because improved educated workers are more learned, they are easier to be trained and easier for them to learn and do more complex tasks. The major factor in determining a country s economy is education and training of its workers. Variation in the quality and quantity of education across countries is the sole factor contributing to differences in workers productivity. Moreover, Higher education remains an important contributor to productivity growth and has a major influence on the standard of living. Ultimately, growth in a nation s productivity results from growth in the productivity of individual workers. Higher education may also improve workers employment stability, enabling more educated workers to maintain their jobs or to quickly find new jobs in the face of changing economic conditions. Therefore, the association between education and unemployment can be a further indication of the effect of education on the productivity of workers. Likewise, benefits of higher education are: earning capacity and employment prospects, firms productivity and economic growth. has also been associated with various non-economic benefits, including greater social cohesion, lower crime and better health. For higher education system to be effective, system must have: (i) Satisfied structure, to meet the goals of excellence and mass education, (ii) Adequate and long term funding, (iii) Competition, (iv) System needs to be flexible to adapt quickly to changing enrollment levels and to changes in the mix skills demanded in the market, (v) Well defined standard that could fulfill the need of the society, (vi) Immunity from political manipulation,(vii) linked to other sectors of the economy, (viii) Support legal and regulatory structure, (ix) System wide resources, and (x) Active oversight of the state. is the right of every citizen exclusive of any kind of gender discrimination and it has been proven that feminine access to education has improved maternal and child health, improves their own children s access to education, and promotes economic growth. In the years of war in Afghanistan female citizens were forbidden to learn except for some religious education. Even for men, the curriculum was highly dominated by religious studies instead of science, technology, literature, etc. What the Taliban did in terms of education goes against Islam VII

9 and what the prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad (SAW), preached. The Prophet told his followers in early days of Islam "seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every muslim (both men and women without discrimination) "(Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 74). Islam advices education for all, both men and women. The purpose of this report is to have an assessment of higher education in Afghanistan to ensure its quality and its responsiveness to the market s demand, Moreover, to identify the problems and issues which are affecting the higher education system of Afghanistan, as to take proper measures so that the real objectives of higher education should be attained and further what investment opportunities are there for the improvement of the system. This report is based on the data up to August Best effort was made in collecting appropriate data. However, certain institutes did not respond with the critical information. The primary information had been gathered through interviews and surveys through distribution of questionnaires which gave the participants chance to state their views and analyze their own practices. Sample of 9 private higher educational institutes was chosen randomly from across Kabul, 26 students who are currently studying in both public and private higher institutions, and to identify the investments on education and its return students who were graduated both from domestic as well as foreign countries were being surveyed, while the secondary information was outsourced from Afghanistan statistical year book (CSO) 1, International Monetary Fund, and other reliable sources. Reports sequence is as chapter one, introduces and discusses education in Afghanistan, chapter two is related to the higher education while chapter three contains investment and return, investment opportunities are discussed in chapter four, and finally recommendations are quoted in chapter 5. 1 Afghanistan statistical yearbook ( ) published by CSO. VIII

10 Chapter: 1. in Afghanistan Due to decades of war in the country, people remained in low socio economic conditions, so the framers of the constitution of Afghanistan charged the state to establish free education where it could be easily accessible to all. According to Article Forty-Three, Chapter. 2, Art. 22 constitution of Afghanistan: is the right of all citizens of Afghanistan, which shall be provided up to under-graduate level (lisâns), free of charge by the state. The state is obliged to devise and implement effective programs for a balanced expansion of education all over the country, and to provide compulsory intermediate level of education. The state is also required to provide the opportunity to teach native languages in the areas where they are spoken. Main purpose of education is to develop physical, mental and spiritual Capabilities of all Afghans, to consolidate their patriotic and humanistic feelings, and to create awareness of their obligations and responsibilities to ensure national, social and economic progress. Different agencies have estimated different literacy rates for Afghanistan which varies from 26 to 35 percent, but according to UNICEF the adults (15+) literacy rate is around 39 percent as of November History of modern education goes back to the year 1863 by continuous efforts of Syed Jamal-ud-din Afghan in the era of Amir Sher Ali Khan, before that there was no modern education in the country as people were educating themselves in religious schools known as Madrassas or Masajids, taught by Islamic teachers known as Mullahs. At the same time Girls education was almost negligible in the country, King Amanullah Khan was the one who for the first time addressed education for girls, which was then opposed by the country s religious people and due to which the progress in education system was decreased. Up to 1932 there was no higher education institute and people with higher education in the country were less in number, who mostly completed their higher education from other parts of the world like Turkey, India and the United Kingdom. In the era of King Mohammad Zahir Afghanistan s education system expanded to higher education as in 1932 Zaher Shah for the first time established faculty of physical sciences which was headed by professor Dr.Fagih Kamil Baig of Turkey which become foundation for Kabul in The process of establishment of higher education institutes continued till the era of Taliban as the total higher education institutes increased to 14, but during the era of Taliban decreased to 7. Many problems existed during the Taliban period; there was shortage of teachers, less number of students 2. Worldly and modern education was considered next to nothing, limited budget was allocated to higher education, depletion of libraries, laboratories, and other educational resources, outdated syllabus, non-availability of books, lack of educational and research environment, and basic facilities to those who lived in hostels were also not provided. After the fall of Taliban, number of public and private education institutes increased as currently there are 2 During Taliban regime, there was hardly more than 4 thousand students in universities 1

11 many schools and higher education institutes in the country. Government is focusing more on primary, secondary and high school educations by increasing the budget for Ministry of as the Total budget allocated to the Ministry of for the year 1390 ( ) was about AFN 29 million (USD 582 thousand) that was making 13.5 percent of total national budget as compared to the year 1388 ( ) where the budget allocated to Ministry of was around AFN 14 million (USD 282 thousand) 3. Schooling in Afghanistan system of Afghanistan is comprised of general education (private schools, public schools, and night shift schools), religious education, vocational education, teacher education, private Islamic education, and literacy programs, run by Ministry of. In most parts of the country, educational year starts from March (Hamal) and ends in November (Qaws). Medium of instruction is Dari, Pashto and in rare cases English. Generally beginning with kindergarten and culminating in twelfth class 4. There is also a non level education which is part of post secondary level, admitting graduates of class eight and trains them for 6 years in specific fields and grants certificate of post secondary education 5. History shows that education sector in Afghanistan has witnessed improvements during the period of King Zaher Shah who expanded the primary and secondary education to most of the population. After the years of war in 1990s there were just about 650 schools all over the country. In 1374 (1996), Madrassa was the main source of primary and secondary education as the total number of Madrassa was 220 without any formal curriculum or text book. In 2002, there were less than one million students, 20,000 teachers with almost no female participation, and 3,400 schools with poor buildings and infrastructure. Over the past few years significant efforts have been made in the sector. The education system of Afghanistan has been improved as new public and private education institutions have been established and school buildings have been repaired. Total number of schools as of 1390 ( ) was 14,034, teachers 179,142 and 7,697,076 students as compared to 1387 ( ) where total number of schools stood at 11,157 and 161,185 teachers, with total 6,236,225 students in all provinces of the country. Each year the enrollment of new students in class one is increasing, in the year 1387 ( ) class one students were at 799,990 which increased to 1,064,462 in the year 1390 ( ). There is also an increase in the Islamic education students from 93,800 in 1387 ( ) to 201,954 in 1390 ( ), technical and vocational students increased from 6,606 to 14,056 in 1390 ( ). Similarly the students to teachers ratio have increased over the years as for the year 1390 ( ) it was 44 percent as compared to the year1387 ( ) where the students to teachers ratio was 39 percent. Ministry of education is working to increase the 3 Majority of the budget allocated to Ministry of education and higher education was in the form of operating budget 4 Class is known as senf in Afghanistan 5 A person with 14 years of education can take admission in 3rd year of by providing required documents 2

12 capacity of current teachers in the form of teacher training institutes, as for the year there was total of 52,617 (19,233 female and 33,384 male) students in teacher training and total of 26,397(10,017 female and 16,380 male) graduates. General education General education which is comprised of primary, secondary and high school, starts from class one to class twelfth. General public education is available all over Afghanistan with total of 13,556 schools, 172,909 teachers and 7,585,192 students in 1390 ( ) up from 1387 ( ) where there was 10,998 schools, 159,244 teachers and 6,200,001 students. Total number of graduates increased from 78,122 in 1387 to 150,201 in General Private was available in 25 provinces of the country, with total number of 6,233 teachers, 111,884 students and 478 schools in 1390 ( ) as compared to 1387 where there was 159 schools, 36,224 students, and 1,941 teachers. Table: 1. General Public/Private Public General Private General Schools Teachers Students Graduates ,998 13, , ,909 6,200,001 7,585,192 78, , ,941 6,233 36, ,884 Total 11, ,34 161, ,142 6,236,225 7,697,076 78, ,201 Source: Central Statistics organization Primary education Primary education starts from class one to class 6 th (known as Maktabe Ebtedia), with age level ranging from 7 to 13. Total number of primary high school has increased during the past decade as total number of primary schools in all provinces of the country as of 1390 ( ) were 5,979 primary public schools with 5,422,348 students, for year 1387 ( ) there was 6,071 schools, 4,788,366 students. Total private primary school was 45 with 84,697 students in 1390 ( ), while in 1387 ( ) there was 16 schools, 4,375 students. Most of primary schools were located in Kabul, while less number of schools in Panjsher, Nemroz and Zabul city. Middle education Middle or secondary schooling in Afghanistan consists of 3 years, from class 7 to 9 (Maktabe Mutawaseta), with the age level of 13 to 16. Total number of public middle schools as 3

13 of 1390 ( ) was 3,924 with 1,445,829 students, up from 1387 ( ) where total number of schools stood at 3,061 with 1,038,907 students. Total private secondary schools as in 1390 ( ) was 82 with 18,335 students as compared to the year 1387 ( ) where total number of secondary school stood at 27 with 2,659 students and 141 teachers. High school Upper secondary or high school which is for 3 years with age level from 16 to 19.Total number of public high school was 3,653 with total of 717,015 students in 1390 ( ) as compared to the year 1387( ) where the total number of high school was 1,866 with 372,728 students. There was 351 private high schools, consisting of 8,852 students in 1390 ( ), as compared to the year 1387 ( ) where number of high school was 116 with 29,190 students. Vocational schools Basically it s a kind of school in which students are taught skills needed to perform a particular job. It is also called job specific skills, and has been considered to be institutions devoted to training, not education. Total number of vocational schools have been increased as for the year 1387 ( ) there was 33 vocational schools, 6,606 students and 497 teachers which further increased in 1390 ( ) to 97 vocational schools, 14,056 students and 732 teachers. Literacy activities In order to remove illiteracy from the country, Ministry of has established literacy courses, which have been increased since past few years as for the year 1387 ( ) total number of literacy courses was 1, 2461 with students (male graduates of 11,676 and 34,457 female) which increased to 22,660 courses in 1390 ( ) with 574,433 students (278,801 male and 295,632 female), and graduates of 227,539 (90,680 male and 136,859 female). 4

14 Chapter: 2. Higher Higher education which is also known tertiary education or level education is right after high school (secondary education). Both public and private higher institutions are serving to help and respond the demands made by the people under the supervision and regulations of the Ministry of Higher 6. Ministry of Higher has a very important role to play in many areas, especially in the area of organizing and directing the Higher system. Ministry of Higher is working to develop partnerships with international universities for mutual information exchange and to increase opportunities of scholarships for oversea studies for Afghans. It organizes seminars and conferences for dissemination of information, sharing of ideas and upgrading of skills. Ministry of Higher is paving the way for the advancement of higher education in Afghanistan to an international level. There are many Types of higher institutions in Afghanistan in the form of universities, polytechnic, institutes and higher teachers colleges (pedagogy). As of 1391(August 2012) there was more than 91 higher education institutes out of which 31 were public (17 universities and 14 higher education institutes) and 60 were private higher educational institutes, out of which seven higher education institutes had branches in provinces. For the year 1390 ( ) total number of governmental and private universities were 69 (29 public, 43 private) with 285 faculties all over the country. Total number of medical sciences, technical and vocational institutes was 62 with 145,968 students out of which 25,236 were female. Government universities offer faculties like faculty of law, science, literature, engineering, education and psychology, agriculture, economics, pharmacy, veterinary, geology, arts, journalism, social sciences, theology, education, construction, electro mechanic, sports, general medical faculty, faculty of medical for children, faculty of medical treatment, stomatology (faculty of dentistry), faculty of nursing, faculty of geology and mines, chemical technology, trade & management, computer science, and vocational education. Higher education institutes mostly offer bachelor programs, short language courses and diploma courses. However, there are certain universities which offer master level programs too. Bachelor level education is for 4 years; however, there are certain faculties that offer these programs for more than 4 years such as: faculty of pharmacy offering bachelors level degree for five years and medical institutes, which gives degree of bachelors after completion of seven years including one year of pre-medical and one year of internship (practical work). Masters level education is offered by limited institutions. Higher education institutes that offer masters level degrees are: Kabul University (faculty of literature and Shariah), masters in physics, and Polytechnic higher institute offers masters program in department of construction. From private higher institutions American of Afghanistan has masters program in 6 Based on excess demand for higher education and less capacity of public higher education institutes, need for establishment of private higher institutions aroused. 5

15 business administration, and Danish Gahe Islam Iran Kabul branch offer masters in literature (Dari, Pashto) 7. Public Higher Institutions As of 1391(2012) there were 31 public higher education institutes which consisted of 154 faculties and 578 departments active in 27 provinces. In 1390 ( ) there were 3,159 teachers up from 1,449 in 1381 ( ). Total number of students for the same year was 77,654 (14,811 female and 62,843 male) as compared to the year 1380 (2002) where the total number of students were 7,870 with no female participation. Total number of higher education graduates for the year 1390 ( ) was 12,275 (2,713 female and 9,562 male). According to the Ministry of Higher in 1390 ( ) number of PhD holder teachers stood at 164 (158 male, 6 female), while teachers with masters degree were 1,136 (984 were male, 152 female). On the other hand teachers who held bachelors degree were 1,859 (1,538 male, 321 female). Private higher educational institutions Since demand for higher education was far more than the supply and the public higher education institutes did not have enough capacity to admit all students, the establishment of private higher institutions solved the problem to some extent. After the year 1385 ( ) the first two higher education institutes established in Afghanistan were Kardan institute of higher education and American of Afghanistan in the year According to the criteria set by Ministry of higher education, the must not have less than two faculties or four departments, and for establishment of institutes, one faculty or two departments are must. These higher education institutions mostly offer subjects like: shariah, law, computer science, medical, mass communication, engineering, economics, pharmacy and diploma programs such as MCSE, CEL, TOEFL,DIT, DEL and other languages. Criteria for taking admissions in these higher education institutes are passing admission test along with submitting required documents; however, there are certain higher education institutes that hold interview with students as well. For establishment of higher education institutes, minimum amount of investment set by Ministry of Higher is AFN 200,000 (USD 4,000). Different amounts of money have been invested in this sector by individual institutions and have fulfilled the minimum required amount. 7 For master level degree students must hold highest grades in bachelors and should pass an entrance exam. 6

16 Graph: 1.Number of Private higher education institutes in different provinces Source: Ministry of Higher education In 1391 (August 2012) there was more than 60 private higher education institutes out of which 33 were in Kabul and remaining in 15 provinces of the country (as shown in graph above), while in 1390 ( ) total number of private higher education institutes were 43. Total number of lecturers for the same period stood at 1,714 (1,590 male, 124 female). Survey results showed that the range of lecturers varied across higher education institutes as it ranged from 10 to 130. Total numbers of students in private institutions stood at 34,713 (29,590 male, 5,123 female), number of students varied across these institutions ranged from 44 to more than 1,900. Total number of graduates for the year 1389 ( ) was 583 which increased to 1,377 for the year 1390 ( ). Each semester on average, institutions receive 110 to 1,500 applications, but gives admission only to 44 to 700 of them. Majority of higher education institutes cannot give admissions to more applicants due to inadequate capacity and lack of proper infrastructure. Government and Higher Institutions According to students, support and supervision of regulatory agency was: highly supportive (8 percent), supportive (28 percent), less supportive (44 percent) and finally 20 percent stated that it is not supportive at all. Government rules and regulations according to the students were: very effective (27 percent), effective (35 percent), less effective 30 percent and finally not effective at all (8 percent). According to Higher al Institutes support and supervision of regulatory agency was: supportive, (22 percent), less supportive (45 percent) while 33 percent said, it s not supportive at all. Institutions observed the rules and regulations of government to be: very effective (11 percent), effective (56 percent), and 33 percent less effective. 7

17 58 percent of students quoted that institutions do not have any program to help them integrate into labor market, while 15 percent of students said that in very rare cases universities are helpful in finding them job opportunities, 15 percent of students said that the institutions helped the students as by introducing them into labor market, and 12 percent did not respond. The institutions give admissions to students up to their level of capacity and were not decreasing the lecture hours as 89 percent of institutions responded that they give admission to only few and keep same lecture hours, while 11 percent said that they give admissions to all and keep same lecture hours. Measures of Higher Quality, quantity, access and other measures are analyzed in order to indicate performance of Higher. In order to improve the system, it s important to have assessment of these measures and further take proper actions to solve problems and issues. Accessibility Although there was 91 higher education institutes, but still it was very difficult to fulfill the demand 8. Most of the youths were deprived of this facility because majority of the institutes do not have branches, and lack of availability of higher education institutes in most part of the country especially rural areas. The following approach must be focused on to increase the accessibility to higher education: al attainment to allow participation Awareness of higher education Aspiration to participate Affordability In Afghanistan private higher institutions offer education services in exchange for certain amount of fee while public higher education institutions were free of cost, but for night shift they charged fee of AFN 5000 (USD 100) from government employees pursuing higher education, while 7000 (USD 140) from others. Ministry of Higher has not restricted or imposed any kind of range or limit for private higher education institutions regarding fee. Fee charged by private higher education institutions were considered expensive which is not affordable by majority of citizens and ranged from AFN 1,500 (USD 30) to 15,000 (USD 300) per month for bachelors level. 8 Around one-third of high school graduate were admitted to universities, the rest join the pool of unemployment. 8

18 Graph: 2. Criteria for Charging Fee (%) 14% 29% 28% 29% per student level of income according to market include small percentage of profit no response Source: Private Higher education institutions Fee offered by private higher education institutions were such as: none of the students quoted that the fee was highly expensive, 62 percent of students said that the fee offered by institutions are expensive as compared to 39 percent of students who responded that the fee is affordable According to surveyed data almost all higher education institutions offered fee exemption to their students in the form of scholarship to high cumulative GPA/percentage holders or anyone belonging to low socio-economic status, but this happened in very rare circumstances. Accountability There isn t much data available on higher education institutes and there is no ranking agency that could rank them on the basis s of students performance and wisdom, but currently Ministry of Higher has planned to have supervision on these education institutions. Supply and demand for higher education (Quantity) In Afghanistan there is a high demand for higher education, while current higher education institutions cannot meet or fulfill the demand of citizens. Demand side Demand for higher education has increased almost all over the world as more investment in higher education leads to future return. More demands are there for education system that has 9

19 more accreditation, quality assurance, evaluation of standards and use of outcome measures. The current situation shows that in near future people with undergraduate qualifications will not keep up with market demand. There is demand for higher education in Afghanistan as in the year 1389 ( ) there was 82,577 high school graduates (Public high school) and only 39,750 (26,980 public higher education institutions, 12,770 private higher education institutions) of them were granted admission in higher education institutions, as almost half of the high school graduates were availing higher education. Public higher education institutions were not enough to fulfill the demand so those who could afford, turned to private higher education institutions, but others who could not find way to public higher education institutions and couldn t afford pursuing higher education in private sector, remained deprived of this facility 9. Supply side Total number of higher education institutions as of the year 1391 (2012) was 30 public institutions and 60 private institutions all over the country, still for the population of age (20-24) 2,027,792 in 1390 ( ) was not sufficient enough as only 112,367 (92,433 male, 19,934 female) which is making 6 percent of population had access to higher education institutions in the year 1390 ( ). Quality A good education system is needed to meet the challenges of providing 21st century education. In Afghanistan there was no quality assurance agency as to control the quality of higher education system; However Ministry of Higher has taken certain steps to make higher education institutions focus on providing quality higher education that could fulfill the current market demand. Quality in education is the most important aspect. Measures that discuss quality of higher education are: learners, environment, content, processes, whether outcomes fulfill the nation s goals for higher education and positive participation in the society or not and etc are being discussed in the following paragraphs. Learners: Overall learners are keen to acquire higher education, but mostly due to poor financial background, they cannot participate in higher education. Total number of students in these institutions ranged from 44 to 4,000 students. 9 In Afghanistan public higher education institutions are free of cost but the fee offered by private higher institutions was considered costly due to which most of the afghan citizens could not attain higher education. 10

20 Students in attending a lecture. Different categories of students were found in institutions. In order to continue higher education, base or background knowledge of the students must be sufficient. As shown in the diagram below, 17 percent of the institutions and students stated that the students background education was more than sufficient, 49 percent sufficient, 31 percent less sufficient while 3 percent said it was not sufficient at all. Similarly 56 percent institutions and students surveyed responded that they did hold class representative meetings to discuss problems and issues, while remaining percentage (44 percent) stated that they don t have such arrangements. In order to have quality education in Afghanistan, institutions must strictly screen students as according to many institutions (87 percent) they were strictly screening the students to the next level of education, remaining 13 percent replied that they are sort of flexible. 11

21 Graph: 3. Students background education to pursue higher education (%) Students Background 3% 31% 17% 49% More than sufficient Sufficient less than sufficient unsufficient Source: Private higher education institutions Environment: Some of the universities lack proper buildings; the ones which have buildings are in the areas which are not suitable for an institution to be. We can say that most of the higher education environment was not healthy for higher education, most of the private higher education institutions had less capacity classes in terms of students, ts, like class size of private higher institutions ranged from 10 to 40, on the other hand public higher institutions s students in each class ranged from 50 to more than 180. Environment for girls were not satisfactory but was improving day by day. Due to problem of co-education and lack of female lecturers most of families did not allow their daughters to continue higher education. 60 percent of students interviewed stated that the higher education environment has been improved as stated: It is good, suitable, starts and ends on time, it got better and useful, nice and academic, competitive, informative, and helpful for attaining higher education.17 percent said that the higher education environment was fair and acceptable, but not satisfactory, it needs to be improved in certain areas. 23 percent stated that the higher education environment was not suitable at all. Too old curriculum, poor teaching methods, education system was not standardized with low quality and less availability of educational materials, als, lack of qualified lecturers, non-existence of well equipped libraries and laboratories, lack of information sharing, and discrimination in terms of nationality and language. Some of students surveyed stated that the relationship ip and behavior of students with their fellow were good, but not academic or educational. Teachers behavior with the students was 12

22 good in general, but there were some issues such as: favoritism, students discrimination on the basis of nationality, nepotisms, and teachers enmity towards the students. Most of the higher education institutions have student complain centers that are constantly working to improve the education environment which is a good sign, but due to the weak management it is not the way as it was supposed to be. As majority of higher education institutes and students replied that they had students complain centers in the form of committees, students service center, through meetings with class representatives, students affairs and etc. Students during exam at Kabul University in an open space. Physical facility In terms of resources, higher education system of Afghanistan was not well equipped, which is the requirement of having quality higher education. Although some higher education institutions were working to provide facilities that are helpful for students. Higher education institutions in Afghanistan provide libraries, but with limited books 10, less number of universities offered computer labs (limited number of computers), transportation, laboratories, internet, canteen and parking facilities. The infrastructure of higher education institutes were not properly built as there was lack of safe drinking water, electricity, no laboratories or if there was, it lacked the required materials and equipments. No first aid facilities, and finally most of the higher education institutions were not located in calm and suitable environments. 10 libraries were in poor conditions as there was no sufficient or modern books available 13

23 Library of Kabul University. Efficiency Afghanistan s higher education system has fewer resources and mostly these limited resources were not being used or utilized efficiently such as: some universities do not have proper classes while others which have plenty of classes were not used effectively. Similarly Technology which is a beneficial input in the education system was used limitedly in areas such as delivering lectures. Students were not encouraged to use computers while doing assignments or other educational researches. Violence: Violence exists everywhere and higher education institutions are no exception to this. There was violence in Afghanistan s education institutions in the form of beating lecturers, bothering girls, fighting, threatening lecturers, smoking, poisoning the students etc. If serious problems take place the institutions inform the police if it couldn t be solved by institution s management. As 74 percent of institutions and students surveyed quoted that there was no violence in the education system, while the remaining 26 percent said violence existed in the higher education institutions. Content: The prevalent curriculum in the higher education institutions is too old as low levels of content knowledge, poor pedagogical skills, traditional teaching system, and outdated materials cannot fulfill the current need of market. 14

24 11 percent of institutions/students interviewed stated that the curriculum was according to Ministry of Higher standard, another 11 percent stated that it was according to international standards, and remaining 78 percent said that it was both according to Ministry of Higher and international standards. Most of the higher education institutions were following the curriculum that was not according to the national goals of the country. It is important that curriculum should be according to national values as some of institutions were adapting it from neighbor country. However, Ministry of Higher is working to make the curriculum standardized that could fulfill the market demand and could compete internationally. According to private higher education institutes, Curriculum was being revised annually and did not include students opinion. Security: Security issues have direct influence in higher education system as decades of war destructed the education system of Afghanistan which resulted in high illiteracy rates. Security problems have negative effect as it delays the lectures, no transportation or hard to reach higher education institutes, creates psychological diseases, afraid to attend education institutes. Security issues have more affected girls education as due to poor security, parents did not allow their daughters to attain both education and higher education. Professional lecturers: Among the main factors that were affecting the quality of higher education in Afghanistan was lack of well qualified lecturers, those who were not capable of helping their students learn. They do not have deep mastery of subject matter and pedagogy, although some of higher education institutions were offering ongoing professional development programs for their lecturers as to improve the quality of higher education. In higher education institutions neither students nor lecturers were punctual which must be controlled by higher management in order to have good quality education. Some of higher education institutes surveyed responded that they do hold teachers meetings as to discuss issues and matters. Mostly in private higher institutions, there was a feedback mechanism to get feedback and lecturers were fired in case they failed. In Afghanistan there are highly qualified youngsters who have completed their higher education from top universities of the world. Unavailability of opportunities, basic facilities and minimal salary were among the factors that they do not participate in higher education system 11. The other issue was that the employment status and salary scale of faculty members need to be rationalized in order to attract more qualified staff both at Ministry level as well as at higher education institutions. 11 Salary of lecturer s in public higher education institutions ranged from AFN 8,000 (USD 160) to AFN (USD 800) per month while private higher education institutions were paying per lecture hour. 15

25 In Afghanistan there are highly qualified youngsters and when the reason was asked from higher education institutions that why these highly qualified graduates were not taking part in education system, 43 percent said that well educated afghans do participate in teaching profession as a part time job, it is because they don t have time, while other 57 percent gave other opinions such as: most of them get high salary so they think there is no need to teach or don t have personal interest to get involved in education system. Financing: Budget allocated to higher education was not sufficient enough as it was just to cover salaries, free dormitory costs and other expenses. The amount of budget allocated to the Ministry of Higher for year 1388 ( )) was AFN 4 million (USD 81 thousand) where for the year 1390 ( ) budget was reduced to AFN 3,1 million (USD 63 thousand). The majority of the budget allocated to Ministry of Higher was in the form of operating budget and fewer amounts for developmental purposes. No incentive had been considered for efficiency and innovation of higher education sector. Governance: Governance in higher education refers to the means by which higher education are formally organized and managed or we can say that the way universities are operated. In Afghanistan, public higher education institutions have little power and were subject to certain rigid rules and regulations. But private higher education institutions were almost free; no proper controlling and supervision was there. There was no agency or organization that could control and supervise these higher education institutions which need urgent attention. Recently Ministry of Higher has planned to control quality of private higher education institutions by onsite inspection and dissolve the ones with poor performance. 16

26 Chapter: 3. Investment and Return Each society needs talented workforce. Individuals who participate in higher education are usually capable to deal with the demand of challenging workforce and their success benefits the whole society with its contribution to national productivity. Investment in human capital pays returns later in life in the form of good jobs and higher salaries. The focus is not just to attain higher education, but rather to get good quality of education that could fulfill the market needs; we can conclude it as there is positive link between quality education and economic growth. In Afghanistan there are three categories of people who have attained higher education: Firstly those who attained higher education from public higher education institutions free of cost. Secondly, those who were financially capable and joined the private higher educational institutions, and thirdly students who have acquired higher education from abroad either in the form of scholarships or self-finance. People who acquired higher education from abroad has captured the market and it is because public higher education institutions were using outdated curriculum and material which cannot fulfill the market need effectively, while majority of private education institutions were not focusing on quality of education rather are just for profit motives. Afghanistan s labor market lacks experienced and skilled labors in number of important occupations which is a threat for well being of community. Supply of less qualified graduates within the economy exceeds its demand, as more demand is for high qualified or skillful educated people. There exists another matter that most of the graduate students (local graduates) were discouraged from participating in, or denied access to, the economic and social opportunities due to the old curriculum. People who were already in workforce needed to upgrade their skills and qualification. Effective institution (Public/Private) Majority of graduates were of the view (48 percent) that the public higher institutions are far better than private higher educational institutions and stated arguments such as quality of education is better, makes students study, has professional and highly qualified lecturers, nicely organized, more control of government, not profit motive, and equipped libraries as compared to private higher educational institutions, while private higher education institutions are just profit oriented institutes, have no control over quality of education and more flexibility is there in each and every aspect. 14 percent were of view that private are good in terms of providing quality education to the nation, provides education in globally known languages (English, Arabic), more facilities to students, new methods of instructing, modern curriculum, and structure is based on international standards. Other 14 percent stated that both public and private were good in certain areas such as: Public was good in terms of certificates which have more value, makes students study and is free of fee, highly qualified lecturers. While some of private institutes were good in terms of better curriculum, introduces new modern education and new methods of teachings and etc. Remaining 24 percent stated that none of these two were effective. 17

27 Graduate Students (Local) Since private higher education institutes have newly come into scene, they don t have many graduate students. Majority of surveyed graduates were from public higher education institutions, with 92 percent holding bachelors degree, 4 percent master degree, and 4 percent diploma holders. Investment by students in higher education, in the form of other charges except tuition fee, ranged from AFN 7,000 (USD 140) to AFN 400,000 (USD 8,000) while some students did not respond by quoting as they don t remember or don t know. Survey result showed that as compare to first three months of salary, by getting experience, attending certain courses, and trainings, salary of these graduates have increased. Graph: 4. Monthly Salary Earned by Graduates from Local universities Monthly Salary Earned by Local Graduates ,000 5,001-15,000 15,001-30,000 30,001-50,000 above 50,000 Source: Graduate students Private convocation in Kabul. Survey also showed that these graduates worked from twelve to one year out of which 31 percent stated that they got promoted, 50 percent did not get any promotion and remaining 19 percent did not respond. These graduates remained unemployed from few days to 6 years. 69 percent of graduates stated that they got job on merit, while 31 percent said they had known someone to help them get the job. 18

28 Graph: 5. First 3 Months Salary Earned by Graduates from Local universities First 3 Months Salary of Local Graduates (AFN) ,000 5,000-15,000 15,000-30,000 30,000-50,000 above 50,000 Source: Graduate students 8 percent of graduates stated that they were very satisfied with the education they acquired, 34 percent satisfied, 23 percent less satisfied, 31 percent not satisfied at all, while 4 percent did not respond. Graph: 6. Students' Satisfaction with higher education gained (%) 4% 8% very satisfied 31% 23% 34% satisfied less satisfied not satisfied at all no response Source: Responded by Higher Institutions Graph: 7. Advantage of Higher education in working environment (%) 4% 23% 42% 31% very helpful helpful less helpful not helpful at all Source: Graduates from local These graduates were facing problems and challenges such as: Financial problems, expensive fee offered by institutions (private higher educational institutes). Less qualified lecturers who did not have proper lesson plans, Lecturers were not punctual as they were either 19

29 missing classes or coming late and leaving the classes earlier. Old curriculum, less availability of educational materials, less techno based facilities. Background education of students was not sufficient, gender discrimination, Favoritism, and preference of relations over discipline was there. Further there was no educational friendly environment, lack of transportation, shortage of resources as higher education institutions couldn t facilitate all students, lack of well organized higher education system; medium of instruction was not standardized by Ministry of Higher, and old system of higher education. Graduate Students (Foreign) We have taken sample of 21 students who have completed their higher education almost from all over the world such as: Afghan students who have graduated from universities of United States, United Kingdom, France and other countries. Most of them (57 percent) holding masters degree and 43 percent with bachelor degree. Range of investment by these graduates was from AFN 200,000 (USD 4,000) up to 4,000,000 (USD 80,000). Majority of theses graduates got there for education by self finance, some of them with public scholarship and few with private scholarship for international students. Out of this number, 65 percent have completed their high school from the same country based abroad, 25 percent graduated from public high school (Afghanistan), while 10 percent from private high schools (Afghanistan). Fee charged by higher education institutions abroad, according to majority s point of view was reasonable as shown in the following diagram. Graph: 8. Perception of students regarding fee charged by Foreign Higher Institutions (%). 10% 60% 15% 15% highly expensive expensive resonable minimal fee Source: Graduates from foreign universities These graduates remained unemployed from few days to maximum of one year. On the other hand some stated that they had not been unemployed at all. Most of these graduates (90 percent) got job on merit base, while 10 percent by knowing someone. Most of these graduates (45 percent) salary was more than AFN 50,000 (USD 1,000), 40 percent were getting AFN 30,000-50,000 (USD 600-1,000), 10 percent AFN 15,000-30,000 (USD ), and the rest 5 percent got AFN 5,000-15,000 (USD ) as compared to first three months where majority of them were getting salary of AFN 30,000-50, 50,000 (USD 600-1,000). 20

30 47 percent of graduate students found working environment as they expected as they were working in their field and earning the salary they expected and quoted that working environment is challenging, learning new things each day. On the other hand 43 percent of students didn t find environment as they expected and gave arguments such as: working environment is boring, unprofessional, corrupted, merit does not have any value, and 10 percent did not respond. Curriculum and Higher Environment Students quoted that the higher education environment was perfect, good and friendly atmosphere for education, no gender discrimination education was based on both theory and practical work. Similarly curriculum was based on international best practices, effective and according to the market needs. Universities were offering almost all necessary standard and internationally practiced facilities such as: low cost hostels, laboratories, sophisticated libraries, transportation, medical facilities, usage of new technology in different areas of higher education, computer labs, site visits, guest professors lecture, workshops, students service center, good educational materials, play grounds, gymnasium, worship places, study trips, and online access to resources. In order to encourage students, universities were offering certain incentives in the form of fee exemption, discount fee, gold medals, certificates, lectureship, pursuing higher education abroad, while some others had no such facilities to foreigner students with highest GPA 12. helped these graduates in work environment as 76 percent graduates quoted that higher education which they attained is more helpful in working environment. On the other hand 24 percent said that it is helpful. Following diagram shows level of satisfaction of these graduates. 12 Grand point average. 21

31 Graph: 9. Students' Satisfaction with higher education gained (%) 5% 10% 33% very satisfied satisfied less satisfied 52% not satisfied at all Source: Responded by foreign graduates Students in foreign countries were facing problems and challenges as social and cultural differences, financial problems, adjustment to new environment and new education system. Last but not least, background education was not sufficient enough. Students were also facing problems such as: Afghan embassy was not supportive/cooperative, immigration issues as well as problems within afghan unions. Reasons Behind Unemployed Graduates Reason behind jobless graduates was in the areas as: they don t have sufficient knowledge of computer, English language, as well as lack of practical work besides theory, which is the current demand of the market. Reason behind unemployed graduates was due to: skill mismatch (15 percent), current curriculum cannot fulfill market needs (19 percent), oversupply of graduates (22 percent), less demand for graduates (20 percent), and 24 percent gave other reasons, such as: due to contract based jobs, low salary, lack of merit standards, lack of enough practical work during academics, less job opportunities, corrupted system of recruitment, bribery in examination, weak government policies, bureaucracy and students carefulness. 22

32 Graph: 10. Reasons Behind unemployed Graduates (in Afghanistan) skill mismatch 20% 24% 15% 22% 19% current curriculum cant fulfill market needs oversupply of graduates less demand for graduates other reasons Source: Responded by all surveyed Entities Expand Higher Opportunities 17 percent of institutions/students surveyed stated that in order to expand higher education opportunities, capacity of classes must be increased, number of branches must be increased (27 percent), decrease cost and fee (19 percent), hire more foreign lecturers (4 percent), and 33 percent gave other options such as: strict implementation of rules and regulations must be there, Ministry of must work hard in order to make the base of students strong, salary of lecturers must be increased and highly qualified lecturers must be hired, workshops and seminars must be there for capacity building of lecturers, more focus should be on quality of higher education, and finally increase the number of faculties as well as capacity of universities. Women s Higher Gender inequality or discrimination in Afghanistan is in its peak as females are discriminated in many areas: one of which is lack of access to Higher education in most part of the country. Higher education is one of the essential needs of afghan girls and women if they are to develop their personalities, engage in productive work, and participate fully in the development of the country and improve their quality of life. The provision of higher education for girls and women is not only a personal obligation, but should be seen as national need. Women s higher education is beneficial to the society as more educated women tend to be healthier, participate ipate more in the formal labor market, and provide better health care and education to their children, all of which eventually improve the well-being of all individuals and 23

33 takes the households out of poverty. These benefits also transmit across generations, as well as to their communities at large 13. SWOT Analysis Swot is the abbreviation of strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The purpose of swot analysis is to denote the present situation of higher education system of Afghanistan to maximize strengths, minimize weaknesses, neutralize threats and capitalize opportunities as to have better education system in Afghanistan. Strengths The factors that made the strength of higher education were: Free education till bachelor s level (public higher education institutions), expansion of higher education in past ten years, Improvements in enrollment rates of both males and females, focusing on teachers training, and females education has been more concentrated on. Weaknesses Poor performance of education system, shortage of financial resources, shortage of physical facilities. Inefficiency of resource utilization and allocation: misallocation of financial resources, low quality of higher education, high class density although ideal is High dropouts, access problems and gender disparity are among factors that make weaknesses of higher education. The other factors were: low earnings of higher education due to poor quality and mismatch between educational outcomes and labor market requirements, management problems as the absence of democracy and not participation of well educated youngsters, lack of effective system and mechanisms for evaluating performance of higher education institutions especially of private ones. Opportunities The opportunities are in the form of availability of human capital and brain power which is not properly utilized. low quality of education which may act as a driving force to reform, establishment of higher education institutions that could provide quality higher education, establishing higher education institutions for females, cooperation and coordination between Afghanistan and other countries in developing and implementing education reform efforts. Threats The education system face the threats such as: security issues, corruption, increasing cost of higher education services, change in innovation and technology, communication and science which require will and adaptability, and unavailability of higher education in rural areas. 13 According to estimates the literacy rate among females was about 15 percent. 24

34 Challenges Despite achievements, there are number of challenges that the higher education sector is facing: Unpredictable security situation which affect the learning environment, Low quality higher education institutions which create bad reputation to other institutions, Lack of opportunities by Ministry of Higher, high number of out of school/higher institutions children and youth, rural and urban disparities, low quality higher education and administration. The timely decision making is hampered by lack of an adequate information and communication system and complicated and lengthy procurement and lack of trained staff are among the major challenges. Since the higher education cost is high so low income people cannot afford it, Books were available in library but not modern books. Less capacity of campus as cannot give admission to all applicants, More cost is there, Government is not supportive, and unavailability of qualified lecturers. Girls education and lack of availability of female teachers were among other challenges facing higher education system of Afghanistan. 25

35 Chapter: 4 Investment Opportunities Higher education across the world is undergoing differentiation horizontally and vertically. Horizontally as new providers enter the market and vertically as institutions proliferate. Variety of institutions pursuing different goals and audiences is best able to serve individual and national goals. Population of Afghanistan is incessantly increasing. In the year 1390 ( ) total population was 26.5 million 14. University age population amounted to be about 2 million (1.03 million males & 990 thousand females) which made 8 percent of total population 15. The total number of students in both public and private higher education institutions was about 112 thousands (92 thousand males & 20 thousand females) with 13,652 higher education graduates. In Afghanistan total value of private investment in higher education system up to the date August 2012 was around USD 14 million 16 making 0.58 percent of total investment of services sector, which is not sufficient enough as more investment is needed by establishing new higher education institutes as well as new innovations in this sector. There exists a high demand for higher education in the country now than before, as the country has left at least 3 decades of devastating war behind which left social, economic, political and educational infrastructure destroyed. Higher education is one of the most demanded and profitable sector where exists fruitful opportunities of investment from within and outside the country. There is a need for establishing higher education institutes not only for boys, but also equally for girls who have comparatively lesser access to higher education and the most vulnerable section of the society in this context. Demand for higher education in Afghanistan is increasing day by day. Current higher education institutions are unable to fulfill the growing demands, due to low investments in the sector or less availability of funds and shortage of resources and facilities for quality high education. It is of great importance to increase private investment in this sector in order to improve quality of education on the one hand, and wider accessibility to willing students on the other hand. According to the statistics disseminated by CSO, the percentage of population aging below 24 years is around 63 percent, which is age in Afghanistan. The figure shows that there exists demand for higher education that has remained unsaturated in the past and in the present as well. To meet this unsaturated demand & to give access to higher education to those who are currently out of the reach, establishment of quality higher education institutes in the form of professional, research, technical universities etc. are necessary. There are potential investment opportunities in the sector too. To clarify the investment opportunities further, we bank upon the data published by the authentic sources, as the following. 14 Statistical Yearbook , CSO. 15 We have assumed age to be 20-24, given the situation in Afghanistan. If we take it to be 15-19, then it would make 9 percent of total population. 16 AISA investors database. 26

36 In the year 1390 ( ) the number of the students registered for matriculation test (Kankor or University entrance test) was 150, A similar number of students are expected to appear in matriculation test in 1391 ( ) too. Among 150,000 students registered and appeared for entrance test, only 55 percent found their way to higher education institutes private and public, while the remaining 45 percent students involuntarily were left out of the reach of higher education. Table 1 below, exhibits the fact in nutshell. 17 Ministry of higher. 27

37 Table 2: Students appeared in University entrance test and result (1390) Number of Students appeared in the Entrance Test Number of Students got admission in the Universities (Including Vocational, Technical, Teacher training & Medical Sciences Institutes) Total Admission given Admission given to students appeared for the entrance test (%) Total Admission given (%) Students unwilling to pursue higher education or did not make it to higher education institutes (assumed) (%) Students involuntarily left out of the higher education institutes (%) Public Private Public Private 150,000 68,253 14,465 82,718 45% 10% 55% 20% 25% Source: Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook , CSO and Authors own calculation based on disseminated data. 28

38 As it is evident from table 1 above, the absorption capacity of public higher institutions is less than 50 percent of the total students appeared for the entrance test (45 percent). This clearly signifies that the government higher institutions cannot cater to the market demand for higher education and the supply of the same is lagging behind. In other words, there is an excess demand of higher education in the country. This is also one of the reasons for higher cost of higher education in Afghanistan. At the same time, private higher education institutions could only offer admission to almost 10 percent of the total students appeared for the entrance test. Public and private higher education institutes jointly have absorbed 55 percent of the total students hoping to pursue higher education. Given the situation in Afghanistan, we assume that at most, 20 percent of the total students wrote entrance test were unwilling to pursue higher education due to personal, financial or any reasons, or due to lack of fulfilling the minimum marking criteria for education. The remaining 25 percent of the total students are involuntarily out of reach of higher education, though they are willing to attain higher education. There can be at least two reasons for this argument. (i) Either they cannot afford to bear high expenses for pursuing higher education in private institutes, (ii) or there is low absorption capacity in both public and private higher education sectors to cater to their demands for higher education. The former logic can hardly be a reason for preventing the willing students to attain higher education in private higher education institutes because; firstly there are private higher education institutes who help poorer students financially in order to assist him/her pursue higher education. This can be in the form of partial or full fee waiver to outstanding students, providing study materials at lower cost, providing free transportation facilities etc. Secondly, the cost of higher education in private higher education institutes are not sky-high to be out of reach of most of the students. Many students, hard or easily, can afford to pursue higher education in private sector. As mentioned earlier, currently the private investment undertaken on higher education is approximately USD 14 million. Given the above analysis of the table, with this amount of investment, the private sector has been able to offer admission to only 10 percent of the total students appeared for the entrance test. The willing 25 percent students who remained out of the higher education system cannot be given admission in public higher education institutes due to their limited absorption capacity. In this situation, the only option these students are left with is to turn to private higher education institutes for admission. However, due to low absorption capacity of private higher education institutes, they cannot too admit these students. This fact undoubtedly indicates the need for investment in this sector and investment opportunities for potential investors. If USD 14 million private investment responds to the demand of only 10% willing students, there will at least investment of USD 35 million is needed further in the sector to cater to the demand of 25 percent involuntary left out students. For this amount of needed investment, we assume that private higher education institutes are equipped with basic minimum facilities, which are required for their smooth functioning. If private investors are willing to establish world class higher education institutes with advanced systems and sophisticated facilities, the amount of required investment can increase even further. Apart from investment in higher education institutes, there exist investment opportunities in other spheres of higher education also. There is a demand in providing facilities such as 29

39 internet based libraries, medical laboratories, smooth transportation facilities, innovations in the sector based on new technology, establishment of private coaching classes, University entrance test preparation centers etc. Private potential investors can invest in these areas where there are extensive demands for each in the country. Besides, investors, individual students and parents maybe in need of education loan for attaining higher education. In this wake, there is a need for the establishment of Higher Development bank in order to provide loans to these category of people so that to culminate in growth of the sector. Income-contingent loan schemes (where repayment plans are tied to post-graduation earnings) should be provided by government, and establishment of higher education development bank (public private partnership) to provide loans to individual students, parents and higher education institutions for capital development. Furthermore, there is need for establishment of quality higher education institutions in the form of professional universities 18, research universities or build partnerships with current public/ private higher education institutions to improve quality of education that could respond to market demand 19, expand opportunities for females, standardization of current education system establishing training institutes for lecturers by foreigners plus workshops and seminars for students are needed. As a result, the higher education sector is among the most potential sectors for private investors where there are opportunities for gainful investments. 18 Professional institutions provide training in a specialized field. Most developing countries have an urgent need for individuals with specialized professional skills so this plays a critical role in national development. 19 Establishment of higher education institutions can provide job opportunities for lecturers. Permit the participation of reputable foreign private education providers, simultaneously increasing competition and capacity in the sector. 30

40 Chapter: 5. Recommendations by Surveyed Entities system of Afghanistan should be reformed as the new generation of professional work force ought to take the political, social and economic leadership of the country without much reliance on international assistance. Government and MOHE should play their roles in the form of: Budget allocation for higher education, which needs to be raised, Fund should be allocated for skill development of lecturers; Standardized teaching system must be introduced by Ministry of Higher. Various competitive, conditional and performance based funding mechanisms must be introduced as a substitute for increasing base grants for teaching and research to public universities, Increase facilities and scholarships to students both within and outside Afghanistan. Pay more attention to girls education who have suffered a lot during the decades of war. Build relationships with foreign universities as to exchange lecturers and students. Supervise and control both public and private higher education institutions as no institutions should be let free. Regulatory and supervisory agency must monitor and control quality of education as site inspection must be there, rules and regulations must be updated consistently. Just highly qualified institutions must be given license. Quality assurance and regulatory framework must be there and need to be updated on regular basis. Government should establish a system which is relevant to the country s history, traditions, socio economic and cultural reality. Provide incentives to private sector for creation of infrastructure for higher education. Government must decrease tax or give tax holiday incentives to higher education institutions as to increase efficiency. In Afghanistan adult illiteracy is a big issue and barrier to national development which needs to be addressed urgently. Background knowledge of students is not sufficient enough and this is mainly due to low quality of primary education which must be strengthened. And finally government should provide job opportunities to those who have graduated and searching for jobs. Suggestions for Higher al Institutions: environment must be friendly and free of dictatorship, gender discrimination, and favoritism. More importantly should make it free of all sorts of corruption. Scholarships must be based on merit. Short courses must be pre-requisite at level for certain courses or fields. Similarly examination test must be based on merit. Besides, theory practical work makes higher education more effective as well as gets students attention. Institutions must not replace textbooks with slides, instead higher education institutions should encourage students to read books. Sophisticated libraries must be established equipped with modern books. Modern books and new scientific materials must be translated into local languages as should be understandable 31

41 and easily available to each and every student. Besides, more facilities should be provided in the form of computer labs, laboratories and other facilities along with latest technology. Incentives must be given to highest CGPA/percentage holders to motivate or encourage students. Extra activities such as trips, conferences, seminars and etc should be provided by institutes to increase the quality of education. Healthy competition must be there among private higher education institutions. Higher education institutions must work on reaching those who are out of higher education; such a criteria must be set, to improve participation of financially disadvantaged students by targeting the most needy students, low socio economic status and regional/ remote students. Certain arrangements must be there to increase capacity level of lecturers and offer higher salary than market rate to keep them focused in lectureship, which is helpful in increasing the quality of higher education. Performance based funding also helps improve the quality of teaching through learning and teaching performance. Despite not having the required qualification, people who are working in administrations of are also engaged in teaching or delivering lectures, this should be avoided. Well educated youngsters should be given chance as they could participate in working and giving ideas to improve education system of the country. Curriculum must be revised or updated. Syllabus is quite old, syllabus should be in line with religious-cultural and social values of afghan nation and could meet the international standards. Promote successful role models to encourage students. Effective programs must be there either by Ministry of Higher or the institutions themselves in order to take steps against violence, such as: programs like life skills training and project toward no drug abuse can be effective to get rid of violence in universities. If this could not work then higher management of education institutions should impose great punishment. Finally faculties staff must be trained rapidly, cancel the license of universities with bad performance as to improve the quality of education, introduce transparency, accountability, responsibility, discipline and integrity into the system. Donors should pursue partnerships with the private/public higher education institutions as to enhance the quality of education system. 32

42 Conclusion Effective education system plays a vital role in each and every society which results in development and prosperity of the country. The main objective of the country s education system should meet the needs of society as to establish such a curriculum that could fulfill the goals of the society. In this competitive environment, education should be the purpose of each and every afghan. As Decades of war badly affected the education system of Afghanistan which resulted in extreme rate of illiteracy and may need decades to improve and expand the education system. There exists deep shortage of professionals in each field and sector. Most of families deprive/abides their children especially girls from getting education which is a big issue to be addressed as education has been emphasized in the constitutions of Afghanistan and importantly in our religion for both man and woman. Today, Afghanistan s higher education institutions have limited linkages with the productive sectors. Faculties and departments work in isolation from employers who might hire their graduates. Neither the universities nor the polytechnic institutions have a board of trustees with representatives from the world of work and civil society. Although there are many public and private higher education institutes in the country, still they don t have capacity to absorb all students. Consequently the survey showed that the quality of higher education in Afghanistan is low, however, there are few higher education institutions that are offering quality education. The prevailing higher education system in Afghanistan suffers from several shortcomings, which has led to low rate of return to education, as well as great disparities in this rate among different categories of people. In order to enhance the role of higher education and reduce the poverty, certain reforms must be there in quality, management, efficiency, access and equity as well as in the labor market. In order to have quality education that could respond to the market need of the country, certain measures should be taken by concerned authority as well as there is need for certain investment in higher education sector of Afghanistan keeping the social and cultural norms in mind. Investment opportunities can be there in the form of foreign partnership with current higher educational institutes, establishing of quality institutes in the country, capacity building of lecturers and making curriculum according to market needs, establishing trainings and workshops both for lecturers as well as for students, expanding branches of current higher education institutions, and making separate higher education institutions for girls. 33

43 Sources Consulted law available in: law.pdf Afghanistan country summary of higher education available in: siteresources.worldbank.org/education/.../afghanistan Country. Information on education sector of Afghanistan available in: Public higher educational institutes available in: central statistics organization.-sep 2011, Afghanistan statistical year book published in CSO-Kabul, Afghanistan Misbahul Haq- July-December 2009 higher education in Afghanistan published in institute of policy studies-islamabad, Pakistan Hanif yazdi- fall 2008, working paper on and Literacy in Afghanistan: Lessons of History and Prospects for Change published by the monitor Saif R.Samady-2007, working paper on and Scientific Training For Sustainable Development of Afghanistan published in the united kingdom web sites of individual higher educational institutes Afghanistan legal education project, alep.stanford.edu 34

44 Appendices Appendix A Table 1: Budget summary ( ) sectors Operating budget 14,109,792 1,748,434 22,062,425 Developmental 10,247,877 9,201,683 7,083,041 budget Total 24,357,669 10,950,117 29,145,466 As Percentage of 12.4% 13.5% total budget Higher education Operating budget 1,681,689 1,876,263 2,079,910 Developmental 2,389,430 1,352,440 1,097,516 budget Total 4,071,119 3,228,703 3,177,426 Percentage of total 1.5% 1.5% budget Source: Ministry of finance Table: 2. Government and private general education in the country Government and private schools Government schools Primary secondary High school Private schools Primary secondary High school Government and private education students Government education students Primary secondary High school

45 Private education students Primary secondary High school Government education graduates Government and private teachers Government education teachers Private education teachers New students in class one Number of vocational schools Vocational schools students Vocational schools teachers Night shift schools Students Teachers Government and private Islamic education students Government Islamic education students Private Islamic education students Source: Ministry of education Table: 3. Government General Students and Teachers ratio Year (1390) (1389) (1388) (1387) Ratio 44% 44% 43% 39% Source: Ministry of higher education (CSO year book) 36

46 Table: 4.Number of Students in Government General Schools 1390( ) 1389 ( ) 1388 ( ) G ir ls % Girls Boys Total Gi rls % Girls Boys Total Gi rl s % Girls Boys Total Source: Central Statistic Organization Table: 5. Literacy activities Indicator Gender Literacy courses Male Female Total Students Male Female Total Graduates Male Female Total Teachers Male Female Total Supervisors Male Female Total Source: Ministry of higher education (CSO year book) Table: 6.Government primary, secondary, high schools education ( ) Teachers Students Schools Femal e male Total female Male Total mixe d fem ale Male Tot al Total(prim ary ) Total (secondar y) Total( high school) Source: Ministry of higher education (CSO year book) 37

47 Table: 7. Total professional and vocational high schools Indicator Gender Number of vocational schools Total Boys Girls Students Total Boys Girls New students Total Boys Girls Graduates Total Boys Girls Teachers Total Boys Girls Source: Ministry of higher education (CSO year book) Table: 8. Government and private higher education in the country Indicators Number of universities and institutions Government private Number of faculties Government private Number of students Male Female Government students male female Private students Male Female Teachers Male female Government teachers

48 Males Females Private teachers Males females Source: Ministry of higher education (CSO year book) Table: 9. Governmental higher educational institutions Name of institution Year of Province/place Founded by establishmen t 1 Kabul medical 1932 Kabul NA 2 Kabul 1946 Kabul NA 3 Nangarhar 1963 Jalal abad NA 4 Polytechnical University 1969 kabul In coorporation with Soviet union 5 Balkh 1987 Balkh NA Faryab higher 1987 Faryab NA education institutes 6 University of 1988 NA Dr, Najeebullah Ahmadzai Islamic Research 7 Herat 1988 NA Dr.Najeebullah Ahmadzai 8 Kandahar 1990 NA Dr.Najeebullah Ahmadzai 9 University of dawat 1985 Peshawar Abdul Rasul Sayyaf and jihad 10 Islamic 1985 Khost Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (renamed to khost in 2003) 11 Abullah bin masood 1991 Peshawar(transferred to Burhannudin Rabbani (renamed to takhar ) takhar) 12 The academy of Islamic education and technology (merged into other institutions in recent years ) NA Peshawar then transferred to herat and jalal abad 13 Baghlan 1993 Baghlan NA 14 Bamyan 1997 Bamyan NA 15 Albreoni 1998 kapisa NA 16 Parwan higher 1999 Parwan NA education institute 17 Paktia 1997 Paktial NA 18 Badakhshan institute of higher education 2003 Badakhshan NA 39 International Islamic relief organization

49 19 Kunduz higher 2005 kunduz NA education institute Source: Institute of policy studies Islamabad (world wide web) Table: 10. Number of Students in Government Universities (Beginning of al Year) University Female Male Total Female Male Total Female Male Total Total number of students Kabul Kabul polytechnique University of education Kabul medical Herat Albironi kapisa Abdullah ibne masood takhar Nangarhar Kandahar Balkh Badakhshan Kunduz Parwan Jawzjan Faryab Shekh zahed khost Baghlan

50 Bamyan Paktia Ghazni Samangan Helmand Kunarha Badghis Panjshir University Laghman University Source: Ministry of higher education Table: 11. Government Graduates by University University Total graduates Kabul Kabul polytechnic University of education Kabul medical Herat Albironi Abdullah ebni masoud takhar Nangarhar Kandahar

51 Balkh Badakhshan Kundoz Parwan Jawzjan Faryab Shekh zahed khost Baghlan Bamyan Paktia Ghanzni Samangan Source: Central Statistical Organization Table: 12. Number of Students and Teachers in Private Higher al Institutes Universities/Higher al Institutes Teachers New Students Teachers New Students Students Students Total Mawlana Jalalludin Mohammad Balkhy Higher Bakhtar Higher Maiwand Higher American Afghanistan University Khatam Al Nabieen higher education

52 Sadat Higher Rana Higher Khawaran Higher Salam Higher Kardan Higher Kateb Higher Peshgam Higher Cheragh Tebi Higher Maryam Higher Ariana Higher Aria Higher Dawat Higher Donia Higher Spin Ghar Higher Tabesh Higher Mashal higher education Karwan Higher Khana Noor Higher Ashraq Higher Ghaleb Higher Taj Higher Gharjistan Higher Tolo Aftab Higher Ebni Sina Higher Kabul Iran Higher

53 Gohar Shad Higher Amir Shir Ali nawayee Higher Spin Ghar Higher (Nangarhar) Wadi Helmand Higher Jami Higher Azhar Higher Maihan Higher Asia Higher Payame Noor Higher Pamir Higher Naser Khesraw Higher Eucation Drokhshan Higher AL Falah Higher Source: Ministry of higher education Table: 13. Public universities University Faculty Departments Albironi 7 19 Badakhshan higher institutions 3 12 Badghees higher institutions 1 2 Baghlan 2 18 Balkh 9 51 Bamyan 4 19 Farah higher institutions 1 1 Faryab higher institutions 4 15 Ghazni 2 9 Ghor higher institutions 1 1 Helmand higher education 2 8 institution Herat Jawzjan 5 Kabul Kabul (night shift) Kabul medical

54 Khost 9 13 Kunar 3 8 Kundoz 4 19 Kandahar 6 31 Laghman 2 4 Nangarhar Paktia 5 15 Paktika higher institutions 1 1 Panjsher higher institutions 1 1 Parwan higher education 2 14 institution Polytechnic 5 26 Samangan higher institution 1 4 Sare pul higher institutions 1 1 Takhar 5 15 University of education 6 23 Urzegan higher institutions 1 1 Source: Ministry of higher education Table: 14. Number of Graduates (Government University) as of 1390 Male Female Total Kabul Kabul (night shift) Kabul medical Polytechnic University of education Takhar Bamyan Kundoz Herat Kunar Nangarhar Albironi Khost Paktia higher institutions Balkh Kandahar Jawzjan Faryab higher institutions Badakhshan higher institutions Parwan higher education institution Ghazni Baghlan

55 Helmand Badghees higher institutions Samangan higher institution Total Source: Ministry of higher education Table: 15. Number of graduates (private higher education) Name of institution Male female Total Male female Total 1 Kardan higher institution 2 Maulana jalaludding balkhi higher institution 3 Maryam higher institution 4 Ariana higher institution 5 Bakhtar higher institution 6 Kateb Kahtem un Nabean 8 Afghan American 9 Khurasan Total Source: Ministry of higher education Table: 16. Lecturers level of education (public higher institutions) University PhD Master bachelor Total Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Total 1 Albironi 2 Badakhshan higher institutions 3 Badghees higher institutions 4 Baghlan 5 Balkh

56 6 Bamyan Faryab higher institutions 8 Ghazni Helmand higher education institution 10 Herat Jawzjan Kabul Kabul medical 14 Khost Kunar Kundoz Kandahar Nangarhar Paktia Parwan higher education institution 21 Polytechnic Samangan higher institution 23 Takhar University of education Total Source: Ministry of higher education 47

57 Appendix B Procedure for establishment of private higher educational institution Conditions for establishment of The building must in a proper place along with well equipped tools. Hire Lecturers at least with master level degree Proper curriculum syllabus Having Minimum of two faculties with two departments Should have five teachers in each department Bank guarantee Must have research institute Conditions for establishing of higher education institutions: The building must be located in a proper place along with well equipped tools Proper curriculum syllabus Should have five teachers in each department Bank guarantee/bank statement Must have one faculty including two departments Lecturers of at least master level Must offer bachelors level education Procedure for establishment of higher education institution I. Any juristic and natural entity (local, foreign) can establish private higher institution under the following conditions: Submitting documents such as statute, funding sources, Application form, Budget plan, all details of work activity to Ministry of Higher education six months work plan Institutional organization chart/hierarchy Curriculum syllabus and subject syllabus Must have proper building and other required tools Bank guarantee/bank statement Transfer amount of AFN 200,000 as a royalty for establishment of higher education institution by real and legal entity to governments account. II. After approval by independent credit board of Ministry of Higher education, permission would be granted for registration and further process. III. The founder can open branches in provinces as far as he could pay the royalty fee and get the license. 48

58 Condition for selection of president Should have attained age of 35. The president must at least hold masters degree and should have experience of at least 5 years in administration. Non deprivation of civil rights by court with jurisdiction Denial of crimes by court with jurisdiction Probationary period The higher institution is obliged to complete 6 months of probationary period, in case the institution fails, then the license would not be granted. Guarantee Must keep bank guarantee equivalent to half expenses of an educational period in one of the state owned banks. And attach the receipt along with the approval letter to the ministry of higher education. Facilities provided by institutions The founder must provide the following facilities: Proper building with standard class rooms Must provide Books, and other helping study materials Library, laboratory, computer labs and other required facilities. Safe drinking water Clean latrines, and sanitation facilities Facilities of first aid and other fire pre-cautionary safety nets. Proper publication schemes as to share information on curriculum, departments, terms and conditions of admission, fee and students other expenses, lecturers level of education, and other staffs. Structure and budget of higher education institutions The founder must observe following factors Must have proper organizational structure Having proper planning, specify the yearly budget as to properly allocate all its expenses and revenues and must provide all details to ministry of higher education. Should have lecturers who could fulfill all the required criteria by Ministry of Higher education. Keeping all educational records in ordered and organized forms. 49

59 Miscellaneous The institutions must report its teaching programs, financial position, administrative and development projects annually to MOHE. The founder must report the sources of foreign aid and grants and the mode of its investments. The institute must give all details of its revenue and pay tax. The higher education institution must state the duties of teachers according to their level of education. All private higher institutions are allowed to take certain amount of money as fee. The institution must have a board of supervisors including a person form Ministry of Higher education. Teachers have all rights and meet all conditions that the public higher institutions have. According to law the institution can merge but by taking permission from Ministry of Higher education. The founder can sell the institution as far as the buyer fulfills the legal requirements. If the institution could not continue its operation, it must inform all its students and teachers 6 months before dissolving it. It is the sole responsibility of Ministry of Higher education to supervise the institutions to make it sure that the institutions are performing according to the requirements set by Ministry of Higher education authorities. In case the higher institutions could not fulfill the requirements set by higher authorities, first Ministry of Higher education will notify the institute, secondly written warning letter would be issued, thirdly the institutions would have to pay fine of AFN 200,000, and finally the institute would be blocked or sealed. In case of conflict between Ministry of Higher education and institution dispute resolution commission would be formed, the member of this commission would be 6 in total: 3 from the Ministry of Higher education and 3 would be from higher education institute. Ministry of higher education can check all its financial reports and accountability without prior information in case the institution did not provide the annual report to the regulatory agency. The institution must consult before changing the function or upgrade the levels of education. Other issues discussed in private higher education draft are regarding scholarships, stamp of each institution, degrees and etc 50

60 according to constitution of Afghanistan Article Forty-Four Ch. 2, Art. 23 The state shall devise and implement effective programs for balancing and promoting of education for women, improving of education of nomads and elimination of illiteracy in the country. Article Forty-Five Ch.2, Art. 24 The state shall devise and implement a unified curriculum based on the provisions of the sacred religion of Islam, national culture, and in accordance with academic principles, and develops the curriculum of religious subjects on the basis of the Islamic sects existing in Afghanistan. Article Forty-Six Ch.2, Art. 25 Establishing and operating of higher, general and vocational education are the duties of the state. The citizens of Afghanistan also can establish higher, general, and vocational private education institutions and literacy courses with the permission of the state. The state can also permit foreign persons to set up higher, general and vocational education private institutes in accordance with the law. The conditions for admission to state higher education institutions and other related matters to be regulated by the law. 51