Public and Private Schools in Afghanistan

[Pages:42]Public and Private Schools in Afghanistan

Comparing some aspects of public and private schools in Kabul city

Kulsoom Saffarudin Sherani

Faculty: Art and Social Science Subject: Education Points: 15 Supervisor: Pia Karlsson Examiner: Maria Jansdotter Samuelsson Date: February 2014

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to explore similarities and differences between private and public schools in Kabul city. Data was collected using questioner and structured interviews. Principals, teachers, parents and students of grade six were the participants of the research. This research focuses on: Curricula, textbooks, and media of instruction, teachers' education and experiences as well as student's gender, socio-economic background and distribution within the two types of schools. Advantages of private schools over public schools were also studied from the perspective of teachers, students and parents.

During this research, some important points of similarities and differences were found, such as discipline, daily study time in schools, parental involvement, completion of syllabi, students' parents' socio-economic background, and teachers' views on the growth of private schools, etc. It was found that classroom facilities, parental involvement, completion of syllabi are better in private schools than public schools. In private schools, additional textbooks on science, computer and English language are taught. In public schools, on the other hand, due to the short time of study, students are unable to finish all subjects in the respective academic year. While both of the school types follow ministry of education defined curriculum. There is a mix approach towards both the school types by the middle class members of the society. Meanwhile Private schools may be exploiting their teachers for giving them lesser salaries as compared to the teachers of the public schools. Private school teachers are paid less salary than the business value a private school may have; despite the fact that they teach for longer hours during the day.

As Afghanistan is already suffering from difference of opinions on national and international issues because of the different curriculums taught in different schools by different organizations during the war. Some of the differences found in this research as well are of significance and may lead to the graduation of students with additional advantages of stronger English and IT skills. This could disadvantage the public school students.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I bestow my humblest praise for almighty Allah, the most benevolent and merciful, for granting me the opportunity to complete my studies and thesis. It was a wonderful time we passed in the academy with our dearest professors and my kind and good class fellows.

My deepest gratitude for my research supervisor Dr. Pia Karlsson, whom I came to respect and appreciate even more during this period. From the start till the completion of my thesis was only possible thanks to her precise help and ready availability. Her supervision and advice brought out the aspiration and insight within me. With this I would also like to thank Dr. Amir Mohammad Mansory, who always very patiently encouraged me. Dr Amir was here to support me whenever I asked for his help.

I am especially thankful to my parents and my brothers, who always had confidence in me to be on right path in the journey of my life and who always showed their love, interest, and insight to provide me with a better environment to be successful in life. Without their kindness I would not be able to complete my work. I would also like to give a special thanks to my brother, Hameedullah Sherani, who helped me a lot in my research work, and all other friends and family members understanding my situation whenever I could not be there for them, which I regret very much.

My warm thanks go to the people of Sweden and Karlstad University's professors. I am also thankful to Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA). Last but not least I would like to thank the rest of the staff for co-operating with me in every possible way. I will never forget the co-operative attitude of my classmates and staff members in the department.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................i ACKNOWLEDGMENT ................................................................................................................. ii LIST OF TABLES ..........................................................................................................................iv ABBREVATIONS ...........................................................................................................................v INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1

Problem area.................................................................................................................................2 Aim and object .............................................................................................................................3 Research questions .......................................................................................................................3 LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................................................4 Regional comparison of private education...................................................................................4 Perceptions about public and private schools ..............................................................................5 Students at public and private schools .........................................................................................5 Curriculum and text books in public and private schools ............................................................6 Teachers and teaching in public and private schools ...................................................................7 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................... 8 School Selection...........................................................................................................................8 Questionnaires and Interviews .....................................................................................................8 Time and places of the research ...................................................................................................9 Limitation of the study .................................................................................................................9 FINDINGS .....................................................................................................................................10 The Schools ................................................................................................................................10 The Teachers' background .........................................................................................................12 Teachers' views on advantages and disadvantages of private and public education .................13 The Students...............................................................................................................................17 Student's homework...................................................................................................................18 Access to computers and internet...............................................................................................19 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................................20 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................23 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 24 ANNEX (A) ...................................................................................................................................25 The Teachers: .............................................................................................................................25 The Students:..............................................................................................................................27 The Parents:................................................................................................................................28 ANNEX (B)....................................................................................................................................34 ANNEX (C)....................................................................................................................................34

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LIST OF TABLES

Figure 1: Number of private schools in Afghanistan......................................................................2 Table 1: Private and public schools background.........................................................10 Table 2: Private schools' extra subjects, medium of instruction, and extracurricular activities...11 Table 3: Private and public schools' teachers disaggregated by age and gender.....................12 Table 4: Teachers experiences in public and private schools...........................................12 Table 5: Teachers' educational background...................................................................................13 Table 6: Reasons for the growth of private schools according to teachers' view.........................13 Table 7: Teachers' responses on what administrative aspects are best in private and public schools....................14 Table 8: Teachers' views on the quality of some teaching aspects in private and public schools......14 Table 9: Teachers view on the aim of private schools...................................................................15 Table 10: Parents' socio-economic background............................................................................16 Table 11: Parents' economic status on students of private and public school...............................16 Table 12: Reasons for parents' selection of schools.......................................................................17 Table 13: Percentage of students in public and private schools.....................................................17 Table 14: Sources of income in the family...............................................................18 Table 15: Students' own ranking of economic Status....................................................18 Table 16: Public and private school students getting help with their homework.....................18 Table 17: Number of boys and girls with access to computer and Internet in private and public schools...................19

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ABBREVATIONS

1. NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) 2. MoE (Ministry of Education) 3. CEP (Central Educational Program) 4. SES (Socio Economic Status) 5. TTC (Teacher Training College ) 6. MDG (Millennium Development Goal) 7. SCA (Swedish Committee for Afghanistan) 8. O/A (Ordinary and Advance) 9. DCF (Data Collection Format)

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INTRODUCTION

Background

The history of Afghan education shows that Islamic studies or mosque-based education was the first educational system. People used to learn to read, write, and count in mosques. Islamic law was also taught by mullahs of mosques (Karlsson & Mansory, 2007). The Western type of education was introduced at the end of the 19th century, when trained officers were needed by the state. In 1878, two institutions were established in Kabul city, a military school and a general school, respectively, specialised for the children of the royal family and the elite. The first public school for boys was established in 1903 and was open to the general public. After 1919, several schools were established in Kabul city and provincial urban areas. The first female modern school was established in 1921, and gradually modern schools were extended throughout the country (Karlsson & Mansory, 2007). There are three types of education in Afghanistan: 'traditional or informal' education, 'modern' education, and 'Islamic' education (ibid.). Traditional or informal education, including Islamic etiquette (adab) and the practice of virtue, morality, and manners (akhlaq), is transmitted by parents, elders, and other influential adults. General education is taught in schools. Islamic education is of two kinds, formal and informal. Formal Islamic education, with a focus on the Quran and the hadiths1, is learnt from mosques and madrasas. It should be noted that madrasa education is considered as private education; and it was historically run and managed by the community (ibid). Western type of education, as labelled by Karlsson and Mansory (2004), is transmitted in public schools, and these have always been a governmental affair. Previously, there were no private schools in Afghanistan; in fact, private schools were not even allowed by the constitution (ibid). In 2001, when the Taliban regime collapsed, hundreds of thousands of refugees returned to their homeland with the educational experiences of their host countries. Among other things, they had been exposed to private education in the neighbouring countries, and they tried to replicate private education in Afghanistan. This idea was recognized by the general public since the government of Afghanistan faced several severe social and economic challenges. These challenges undermined the government's capacity to deliver education, in terms of educational materials, teachers, and an education-friendly environment. Hence, the private sector and the government mutually moved to a new era in education, and decided to establish a private education system (Packer et al. 2010). Within a decade, 803 private schools were established and engaged in providing education to172, 474 students, 44 percent of whom were girls. Compared to private schools there are 16600 public schools in the whole of Afghanistan. Out of the total schools, 42 percent are primary schools, 28 percent are lower secondary schools, and 30 percent are upper secondary schools (Ministry of Education, 2010).

1In Islamic terminology, the term hadith refers to reports of statements or actions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), or of his tacit approval or criticism of something said or done in his presence.[9] Classical Hadith specialist Ibn Hajar alAsqalani says that the intended meaning of hadith in religious tradition is something attributed to Muhammad but that is not found in the Quran.

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Figure 1: No. of Private Schools in Afghanistan

(Ministry of Education, 2010)

This figure shows the number of private schools in the provinces of Afghanistan. From here we find out that more than half of the private schools are concentrated in Kabul city. The second largest numbers of private schools are located in Herat city. However, there are five provinces in Afghanistan that have no private schools at all. Those provinces are Kapisa, Zabul, Uruzgan, Nooristan, and Daikundi. These are provinces where private schools are not popular up to now.

Problem area

Recently, the educational system has drastically expanded in Afghanistan as compared to 13 years ago, especially in regard to access to education. According to Ministry of Education (2011) statistics, more than nine million students attend over 1600 schools run by the government. Still there are around 3 million children out of school in the country. Beside the traditional governmental schools, private schools have been allowed and even promoted, as stated in the National Education Strategic Plan 2010-2014 (Ministry of Education, 2010). As mentioned, the number of private schools has increased to 803 in Afghanistan. There are also concerns about the quality of education generally. The learning level of school students is questioned by national and international bodies and other involved parties, including parents (ibid).

According to Aslam (2009), private schools help to increase educational facilities in a society. Private schools may contribute to widening the socio-economic gap since poor students do not attend private schools (Karlsson and Mansory, 2004). Currently, most private schools are established in the capital and a few big cities. Because they charge fees, it is more likely that the children of a rich socioeconomic background are enrolled, while students of a weak socioeconomic background are rarely to be seen in private schools.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) demands uniform curricula and textbooks for all schools for grades 1-12. Private schools meet this requirement and also offer additional courses and textbooks, as well as pre-school classes (Ahmad, 2011). The addition of extra subjects depends on the nature and philosophy of the school. Some religiously inclined private schools have more

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