NGO message prior to Brussels meeting More money and better safeguarding needed for education
Both the Afghan government and the international community should dedicate more resources for education. That’s the overall message from 11 Afghan and international NGOs, coordinated by Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA).
The organizations, all working in education, are presenting a joint briefing paper prior to the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, where they highlight the progress for education in Afghanistan but also the many difficulties that constitutes a threat to continued progress.
More resources must be spent on basic education, in order to enroll the remaining 3,5 million school-aged children that today do not attend school. There’re also some specific need to be addressed, like literacy programmes. In spite of the fact that Afghanistan has one of the highest illiteracy rates worldwide, budget for literacy programmes decreased with 35% during 2015.
Further, deteriorating security situation has reversely and severely affected the education sector is the country. This is one of the other key areas that SCA and the 11 organization are concerned about. According to a UNAMA’s recent report, increasing violence, threats and intimidation in 2015 and rising trend in violence has led to the closing or partial closing of more than 369 schools, affecting at least 139 000 students, around 50 000 of them girls.
Thus, the security and immunity of schools must be in top priority of peace-negotiations by the government; schools and education facilities should be protected and the government of Afghanistan must commit not to use schools for military purposes.
Besides Swedish Committee for Afghanistan the organizations that endorse the joint briefing pare are: Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief and Development (ACBAR), Afghan National Association for Adult Education (ANAFAE), Afghan Women Education Center (AWEC), Afghan Health and Development Services (AHDS), International Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband (DVV), Islamic Relief Worldwide, Mercy Corps, Save the Children – Afghanistan, The Tashabos Educational Organization (TEO) and The Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan (WADAN)
Read the briefing paper here: https://swedishcommittee.org/sites/default/files/media/education_briefing_paper_to_brussel_conference.pdf
For further information, contact: Baktash Musawer.
Tel: 0093 700 66 05 64 / 0093 789 42 78 50
Email: baktash.musawer@sca.org.af