Afghanistan: Girls and boys, rights at school

In Afghanistan,conflict and fragile security impede delivery of school supplies, enrollment, monitoring and school supervision. These challenges are exacerbated by entrenched cultural norms that oppose the education of girls. Early marriage also often interrupts the education of such girls as may have been fortunate enough to have entered school. A general shortage of teachers and acute need for female instructors, coupled with too few physical structures, makes attendance difficult – particularly in rural areas. Sixty percent of the 4.2 million out-of-school children are girls”. (Unicef, 2011).

Considering this dramatic situation, Cesvi is implementing the project “Girls and boys, rights at school” in 21 schools in three districts – Injil, Karukh and Zenda Jan – to train teachers, parents and community on the importance of an equal access to education. Cesvi is as well rehabilitating 156 classrooms which needed improvements to allow a better learning environment to children.

The project began in January 2015. It is co-financed by Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in partnership with the Department of Education Herat and the University of Herat.

It aims at improving school-community services in order to increase access to education in rural areas. Great attention is paid to girls, since in rural areas cultural restraints prevent girls to attend school outside their own village. During the last summer, directors of schools, DOE officials, and teachers were involved in courses on children’s rights and the right to education for boys and girls. In order to improve the quality of education and ensure the application of lessons learned, Cesvi developed trainings for teachers on new teaching methodologies, followed by supervision and monitoring activities.

13 schools out of 21 within the districts of Karoukh and Zenda Jan, already received 778 banks of three seats each and 52 libraries ready to hold 650 books for children and teens that will be delivered together with stationery for the new school year.

Thanks to the excellent cooperation with the Department of Education of Herat Province, the needs of this schools involved in the project have been updated, and also the villages needing more desks in the classrooms will receive Cesvi kits and furniture.