A World-Class Education?
Mon, 08/02/2010 - 12:36 — grace.norman@gm...
description:
<p>Political instability often led to school closures or the cessation of education altogether. But at one time, Afghanistan had a promising education system. Many believe that re-establishing education is the only long-term hope for stability.</p>
Era:
Afghanistan in the World
Theme:
Traces & Narratives
Tradition & Modernization
Year:
1929
BCE/CE:
CE
Date Period:
CE
More Information:
<p>"100513-F-7713A-061." Digital image. Isafmedia's Flickr Photostream. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/isafmedia/4626146729/.<br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en</p>
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<div class="hang"><i>Afghanistan Girls Education</i>. UNICEF, 2009. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utzNdAB84lk.</div>
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<div class="hang">"Biology Class, Kabul University." Digital image. Foreign Policy. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/27/once_upon_a_time_in_afghanistan?page=0,2.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>G-00199-19</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang">"Hundreds of Afghan Youngsters Take Active Part in Scout Programs." Digital image. Foreign Policy. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/27/once_upon_a_time_in_afghanistan?page=0,8.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-196-H-107</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-379-H-290_1</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>KES-379-H-290_1</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>KES-864-A-233</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>KES-905-A-274</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>KES-906-A-275</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>KES-910-A-279</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
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<div class="hang">Mahwash. "Taghafol Tchi Khejlat (The Ashamed Conscience)." In <i>Radio Kaboul</i>. Accords Croisés, 2003, CD.</div>
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<div class="hang">Menten, Alexis. <i>Makeshift Classroom, Kapisa Province, Afghanistan</i>. 2004.</div>
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<div class="hang">"Mothers and Children at a City Playground." Digital image. Foreign Policy. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/27/once_upon_a_time_in_afghanistan?page=0,10.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>Mr. Besse, Physics Teacher</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"><i>Sl-04726</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
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<div class="hang">Producer: Grace Norman</div>
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Video Transcript:
<p>This is a photograph that shows a boy at a school, pointing to a map of Europe and Asia. And I think it’s an interesting photograph. I’ve always enjoyed looking at this photograph for what it says about the educational institutions as they developed in Afghanistan in the teens and twenties of the 20th century, and how Afghans began to see the world in broad global terms for the first time. And to begin to imagine themselves and their country within a community of nations and within a global context.</p>
<p>Education is the way societies prepare a rising generation to be productive citizens.</p>
<p>Creating a world-class education system was a priority for the reform-minded King Habibbulah and for his son King Amunallah. King Amunallah opened several schools, including ones that offered French language instruction, and international exchanges.</p>
<p>One of the sad losses that happened as a result of his being overthrown in 1929 was that the rise of education, the development of education was set back correspondingly.</p>
<p>It did develop again, to the point where gradually, incrementally during the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s, primary schools spread throughout Afghanistan, along with regional high schools and a set of universities in some of the major cities in Afghanistan. But it took a long time, and one of the tragedies of Afghan history is that education has been derailed consistently. Just as its beginning to make progress and beginning to show the results of having young people with knowledge of languages and of geography, of sciences and mathematics, of humanities, that their political events happen that lead to the closure or to the cessation of the educational system.</p>
<p>The desire for education is too often met with great obstacles. Here make-shift curriculum can be pinned to trees when there are no classrooms or other resources.</p>
<p>The letters are written differently whether it’s the beginning, the middle, or the end. Same letter but it appears differently. So here for example we have a kaph, a k, and you see that’s at the beginning. This is how it links up because Arabic script is cursive and this is how it’d appear on the end.</p>
<p>After a tumultuous century, some argue that like never before, Afghanistan needs a world-class education system because it is the only hope for long-term stability.</p>
