Numbers do not tell the full story. The concept that curriculum
should be designed so as to enable students to function fully
in their own worlds was never understood. For the majority of
village children the knowledge they gained at school had scant
relevance to their lives and provided little of benefit to compensate
for time spent in school. For boys, meaningful learning experiences
took place in the fields with their fathers; for girls, at home
with mothers, aunts and grandmothers. Rural Afghans for the most
part consequently viewed formal education with profound indifference
before the war. In addition, since there were are no reading materials
to sustain interest, a large percentage of those who dropped out
of the system lapsed quickly into illiteracy. Even instruction
in reading and writing was weak, causing a disturbing lack of
language skills among those pursuing higher studies.
With the advent of invasion and war, many residing in communities
outside the control of the Kabul government or in refugees settlements
came to view secular education as an alien Western imposition
contradicting Islamic values; the road along which communism was
brought to Afghanistan; an instrument of Sovietization. This attitude
mellowed over the years as many refugees observed the benefits
of education, but the curricula developed for refugee children
was highly politicized and filled with war messages. Attempts
by NGOs to include subjects pertaining to practical life skills,
basic health, simple agriculture, environment and cultural awareness
were met with indifference by the authorities. The war messages
have been discarded but little else has changed. There is still
no agreement on curricula despite two years of concerted efforts
by the NGOs to arrive at a consensus with local authorities. As
a result, several systems are employed.
Country
name Afghanistan conventional long form Islamic State of
Afghanistan conventional short form Afghanistan local long
form Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan local short form Afghanestan former Republic of Afghanistan
Area
- total: 647,500 sq km land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km
Terrain
- mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Climate
- arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Geography
- landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide
the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in
the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)
Waterways
- 1,200 km note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT (2001)
Natural hazards - damaging earthquakes
occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts
Information
Courtesy: The Library of Congress - Country Studies
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