Education development leads to enrollment gains in east
ISAF: KABUL, Afghanistan – Since October 2008, eastern Afghanistan has 54 new schools and nine refurbished schools for a total cost of more than $13 million.
During the same time frame, enrollment increased by 200,000 students, according to the Ministry of Education. Among the increase, there are 62,243 more females who were not allowed an education under Taliban rule.
Prior to their new school opening this year, students in the Muhammad Aghah district of Logar province once learned outside, sitting on the ground. Now, the students sit behind school desks beneath the roof of Pole Qandahari, a new school building.
Similar stories are reported across many districts, such as the new kindergarten built in Ghazni City and turned over for occupation on Dec. 9. Musa Khan, Ghazni provincial governor, presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The ceremony marked the completion of construction and the turnover of the school to the province’s Department of Social Affairs.
The school grounds are enclosed by a fence for the security of the children and staff. The school building itself is a pink, two-story structure with a kitchen, dining room, store room, administrative office, recreation room and restrooms. There are six classrooms and a library. Outside, children have a playground with swings, teeter-totters and plenty of space to run and play games.
“The kindergarten was completed very quickly,” stated Krzysztof Freszel, the project’s engineer. “The whole project took less than six months and cost approximately $300,000.”
From October 2008 to October 2009, 54 new schools were erected in seven different provinces. The building projects totaled $12.6 million and included schools in Khost, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, Paktiya and Parwan provinces. In the same period, nine schools were refurbished in four provinces at a cost of nearly $650,000.
According to Mr. Asif Nang, director of publication and information at the Ministry of Education, 2.2 million students (742,826 females) were enrolled in schools throughout Regional Command East in 2009. This year, there are 2.4 million students (804,069 females), he said. The increased enrollment for male and female children rose throughout all provinces of RC East.
“It’s clear that the people here today are eager to assist in educational needs for this province, and we appreciate you all,” said Abdul Wahid Hekmat, the Kapisa education line minister.
In Logar province, the Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team is busy reconstructing another school, Azra.
“When I first visited, children were learning out in the open, in front of the school building. They were sitting there wrapped in [wool] chadors, half of them shivering with cold,” said Klara Janotova, the civil engineer from the civil section of Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team.
The Czech reconstruction team constructed the building with space for 16 classrooms to accommodate about 500 students.
“So, what we now have is a school made of bricks and concrete, with desks in the classrooms,’ said Abdul, a 16-year-old student. “We never again have to learn out in the open.”
The school grounds are enclosed by a fence for the security of the children and staff. The school building itself is a pink, two-story structure with a kitchen, dining room, store room, administrative office, recreation room and restrooms. There are six classrooms and a library. Outside, children have a playground with swings, teeter-totters and plenty of space to run and play games.
“The kindergarten was completed very quickly,” stated Krzysztof Freszel, the project’s engineer. “The whole project took less than six months and cost approximately $300,000.”
From October 2008 to October 2009, 54 new schools were erected in seven different provinces. The building projects totaled $12.6 million and included schools in Khost, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, Paktiya and Parwan provinces. In the same period, nine schools were refurbished in four provinces at a cost of nearly $650,000.
According to Mr. Asif Nang, director of publication and information at the Ministry of Education, 2.2 million students (742,826 females) were enrolled in schools throughout Regional Command East in 2009. This year, there are 2.4 million students (804,069 females), he said. The increased enrollment for male and female children rose throughout all provinces of RC East.
“It’s clear that the people here today are eager to assist in educational needs for this province, and we appreciate you all,” said Abdul Wahid Hekmat, the Kapisa education line minister.
In Logar province, the Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team is busy reconstructing another school, Azra.
“When I first visited, children were learning out in the open, in front of the school building. They were sitting there wrapped in [wool] chadors, half of them shivering with cold,” said Klara Janotova, the civil engineer from the civil section of Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team.
The Czech reconstruction team constructed the building with space for 16 classrooms to accommodate about 500 students.
“So, what we now have is a school made of bricks and concrete, with desks in the classrooms,’ said Abdul, a 16-year-old student. “We never again have to learn out in the open.”
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