‘Three Cups of Tea’ for Kabul University
M. Ashraf Haidari
April 28, 2011
As headlines about the flawed book, “Three Cups of Tea,” by Mr. Greg
Mortenson punctuate major U.S. papers, two important messages - one of which the
book makes clear - must be heeded. First, Mr. Mortenson’s stories, true or
somewhat false, highlight the importance of providing Afghan children with
access to primary education. This is a human right, which has been universally
accepted. The focus on girls’ education in rural Afghanistan has been recognized
by the Afghan government as part of our firm commitment to meeting the
Millennium Development Goals, understanding that educating girls will empower
more than half of the Afghan population. Indeed, a healthy mother makes a
healthy family, which in turn constitutes a healthy and productive society.
But the other message that complements “Three Cups of Tea” has received scant
attention and resources from the international community. Improving the quality
of education and investing in the higher education sector, which must prepare a
new generation of Afghans to begin gradually owning and leading the process of
rebuilding and developing our country, continues to be neglected. For the
purposes of publicity, fundraising and politics, donors and their related
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), as well as private individuals, have
collectively focused on school-building projects without necessarily ensuring
that those schools have qualified teachers, a modern curriculum or labs and
libraries equipped with information technology systems to develop a productive
labor force that can help integrate Afghanistan with the global economy.
Without looking further afield, the crumbling status of Afghanistan’s major
university, which once educated students from developing countries, is
tragically telling. In November 2009, I paid a visit to Kabul University’s
library, which used to be one of the largest academic depositories in the
region. But I found the front section of the library partitioned into smaller
divisions, each temporarily staffed and run by a donor country with its national
flag sitting on the corner of the receptionist’s desk. Going through the larger,
orphaned half of the library with broken shelves, outdated science books from
1940s or older, and no central heating or air-conditioning system, I wondered
where the hundreds of millions of dollars, which donors have committed and even
disbursed for the education sector, had been spent.
Sadly, however, as any Kabul University student would tell you, much of the
aid resources have been wasted on empty schools in the middle of nowhere. But
those schools have provided nonstate agencies, such as provincial reconstruction
teams and NGOs, with photo and video opportunities to showcase their efforts in
Afghanistan and to raise more resources to spend on similar quick-fix and
half-done projects, which are completely outside Afghanistan’s list of
development priorities.
Setting details of Afghanistan’s higher education strategy aside, it is time
that one or more serious donors commit to assessing the various needs of Kabul
University for effective assistance over the next three years. The international
community has set 2014 as the deadline for the transition of security,
governance and development responsibilities to the Afghan government. Such
inclusive transition of responsibilities to Afghanistan can hardly take place
without helping the country’s key institutions of higher learning become
functional to meet the basic standards of modern higher education.
We have a saying in Afghan-istan: “Without morning tea, the war cannot
begin.” So, the right place for donors and education advocates to begin work at
Kabul University is in its cafeteria, where students can actually take a break
and have a cup of tea. With such a beginning, we can be sure that the war in
Afghanistan can wind down, if Afghans are increasingly able to stand on their
own. But this initial effort must usher in universitywide curriculum
development, modernization of the partitioned library into one functional
institution to support student research, and building decent extracurricular
facilities to make the students’ educational experience at Kabul University
whole.
M. Ashraf Haidari works with the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
formerly served as the deputy ambassador and political counselor of the Embassy
of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C.
The above article originally appeared in
The
Washington Times. Reprinted here with permission from the author.
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