Improving access to a quality education for the most marginalised.
A major goal of the Foundation is to improve the quality of basic education. Four objectives set the wider agenda: ensuring better early caring and learning environments for young children; increasing access to education; keeping children in school longer; and raising levels of academic achievement. The Foundation intends that girls, the very poor, and geographically remote populations should receive special attention.
Access, retention, transition and low learning outcomes are all part of the educational disadvantage and inequality faced by girls in Afghanistan. Whilst access to school for both boys and girls has increased significantly since the fall of the Taliban, an estimated 4.2 million children are still out of school, 60% of which are girls. Of the 2.4 million girls in primary school, 42% drop out by Class 6 and only 30% are enrolled in secondary school. A Ministry of Education assessment has revealed that only 45% of enrolled girls complete primary-level education, while a mere 5% complete secondary education.
In many areas, cultural attitudes place restrictions on girls’ mobility due to concerns for safety and honour; therefore, distance to school disproportionately affects girls. The limited number of girls completing high school education, in turn, perpetuates the shortage of female teachers (only 51,000 of 170,000 primary teachers are female, mostly in urban areas).
AKF is currently implementing a five year (2013-17) programme* with support from the UK Government’s Girls’ Education Challenge fund. Building on AKDN’s education programming in Afghanistan since 2002, the project is delivering a comprehensive package of interventions to ensure a sustainable ladder of learning opportunities for girls from pre-primary, primary and secondary levels, through to teacher training and adult literacy access 15 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.
Key target groups are girls in remote or insecure areas without access to formal schools; school-aged married girls; and older girls who missed the opportunity to go to school. To promote education access and quality learning for all these girls, the project engages with teachers, families, communities, local decision-makers and Ministry of Education staff at all levels.
Although the STAGES project is still in progress, key lessons are already emerging to explain increased enrolment, reduced drop-out rates, improved graduation rates, and higher numbers of female teacher trainees. These include:
*The Steps Towards Afghan Girls’ Education Success (STAGES) project is implemented by a consortium of partners led by the Aga Khan Foundation. This includes: Aga Khan Education Services, Care International, Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services, The Afghan Education Production Organisation and Roshan Telecom.
This video highlights AKF’s current girls’ education programme in Afghanistan (STAGES)
This video highlights AKF’s previous girls’ education programme in Afghanistan from 2009-13.
This DFID funded programme continues AKF’s work in girls education in Afghanistan which began in 2002.
AKF is a member of The International Aid Transparency InitIATIve (IATI). For more details about how we report on our programmes using the IATI standard please click here.