Challenges and Recommendations
There are many fundamental challenges to improve higher education in Afghanistan; in order address some of these challenges, the following recommendations are made:
The higher education programmes should be primarily designed to provide skilled workforce which is necessary for the development of the country. However, the curriculum in most subjects has been copied from the universities abroad without proper consideration of how best to adapt the curriculum which will address local needs and meet market demands in Afghanistan. It is strongly recommended that whole education system in the country is fully evaluated and modified to integrate international practices and make the education system more effective to train the future workforce for the country in 21st century.
Curriculum enhancement
The advancements in science, engineering and technologies during the last few centuries have enormously promoted the development of the education in many parts of the world. Such educational development has consequently improved the quality of life and brought prosperity to these areas. However, countries such as Afghanistan has not benefited from such educational development and therefore, the standard of life has not improved. It is imperative that the Afghan government seriously work to improve the education of science, technologies, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Information and Communication (ICT) has been an integral part of teaching and learning at schools, colleges and universities in the developed world. The full importance of ICT has been recently realised by the world because of the crises related to corona virus, where most institutions provide online education using ICT tools. Therefore, ICT should be integrated into the core curriculum of mainstream education in Afghanistan, i.e. at primary, high school, college and university levels in the country. ICT literate workforce will be crucial for the economy in the future.
The introduction of practical courses: Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) are essential for any country, which has not been properly exploited in the country. TVET can be related to vital sectors such as construction, agriculture, mining, energy, telecommunication and etc. Highly skilled workforce is essential for the above and other sectors. The expansion of practical vocational and technical courses is highly recommended to be integrated within the higher education system. The practical skills that the University graduates in Afghanistan can offer is very limited at present, which leads to ineffective practitioners trying to maintain the country’s technical infrastructure.
There is a strong need that detailed aspects of entrepreneurship ought to be included in the curriculum of the universities in the country
Management practices
The vast majority of the decision makers at the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) and major universities in Afghanistan do not have strong exposure to international practices and therefore, the do not possess the experiences that would be highly desirable to manage higher educational institutions. Their experience to properly evaluate the suitability of the existing educational programmes at higher educational institutions in Afghanistan is a major issue to be addressed.
Prioritising the sectors
Particular attention is paid to improve the education in subjects which has strong links to the agriculture, mining, energy, telecommunication and other essentials sectors which are vital for the economy of the country.
Professional regulatory bodies should be established to provide rules and regulations for professionals that practice in Afghanistan. The professional fields may include medical, engineering, land surveyors, skilled workers, etc. The regulations should include the required scholastic background and experiences of the personnel involved in the practice of their professional fields. The regulations should also include qualification requirements for the engineering testing laboratories that perform engineering materials testing.
Investment
Educational services are expensive; therefore, it is essential to seriously consider the financial aspect of education system in the country. If higher education is to play a vital role in the reconstruction and future development in Afghanistan, significant investment in control and resources is needed to address the issues discussed in this website.
Establishing regulatory bodies for all subjects
The shortage of well established regulatory bodies for all subject disciplines and the sudden expansion of the higher education system in the country have had a major effect on the quality of graduates from universities and higher education institutions in Afghanistan. The sudden expansion is due to political pressure in the public sector and short-term gains in the private sector, which has significantly reduced the quality of graduates from higher education. International norms should be used to establish proper regulatory bodies which would evaluate and determine the suitability and quality of all of the courses taught at public and private universities.
Staff development
Despite of the fact that many Afghan lecturers have been trained abroad but there is very little sign of any significant improvement in the knowledge and skills of the graduate which has many reasons which will not be discussed here. For instance, most lecturers use Traditional teaching methods, i.e. just lectures with limited problem solving with no laboratory work. Suitable training should be provided to the academic and administrative staff members at the education and higher education institutions in the country. Such training may be more efficient, if staff members are committed and willing to learn, and adopt an open-minded attitude towards the application of new practices. Otherwise, even the most elaborate strategy may be hindered from attaining the preset goals.
Learning resources
There is a lack of adequate laboratory equipment at most higher education institution in the country and regrettably the existing equipment has also been not fully utilised.
The shortage of teaching materials such as textbooks, computers, and laboratory equipment is another issue to be addressed. The majority of learning resources within most higher education institutions are outdated, and teaching in some cases is restricted to the lecture notes that have been written decades ago.
Access to the Internet is very limited and the majority of students and staff are not properly trained to use Internet. The lack of suitable and updated reference books, journals, and magazines in many scientific and engineering subjects is evident in the libraries throughout the educational institutions in the country. Learning an international language in order to learn from up-to-date resources emanating from other countries is an issue that must be tackled throughout the educational system. Books and reference materials in the libraries in local languages are outdated, and students using them will be in a disadvantageous position in the long run.
Employment opportunities
Traditionally, the Afghan government has been the main employer for graduates from high schools and higher education institutions, including the universities, across Afghanistan. However, during the last decades many national and international organizations have recruited the most talented individuals by offering higher salaries and better work conditions. In addition, the private sector has been established specifically in the construction, telecom and IT industries.
Despite the limited progress, the Afghan government has not carried out a thorough assessment to establish a relationship between the existing courses at universities in Afghanistan and employment opportunities in the country. Furthermore, to the best of the author’s knowledge, there is a lack of a sustainable policy to create an industry in the country which can create jobs and wealth.