Afghanistan
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Building the infrastruture to provide education for all Afghans
Towards developing a ICT policy for the country, Afghan government officials met at the Information and Communication Technology Policy Development and Implementation Seminar for Afghanistan, 14-18 October 2002, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through its Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP).
Afghanistan already had in place two key building blocks for a national ICT policy in the form of the National Telecommunications Policy issued in July 2002, and the Telecommunications Development Strategy issued in October 2002. These documents tackle critical aspects of building communications infrastructure, yet issues of content and capacity building were lacking.
In 2003, the UNDP again assited the Government to develop a Draft Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Policy Paper, in which some space is devoted to education. The Government recognises here that the establishment of ICT infrastructure in Afghanistan is essential to promoting education and its subsequent benefits for the new age. Distance learning and in-service training are also seen as important components in improving the skills and knowledge of the existing labour force. The paper goes on to assert that ICT is particularly critical in countries where large segments of the population (including women) are educationally disadvantaged or live in rural areas, as is the case in Afghanistan. For this reason, the Government through the Ministry of Communications (MoC) will take steps to:
a. Mobilize resources to purchase ICT equipment and educational materials and to improve technological connectivity at schools and universities.
b. Support the Ministry of Education (MoE) with the assistance of the MoC to develop ICT curricula at both the secondary and tertiary levels and to promote participation in related courses (such as computer science, multimedia, communications, and engineering).
c. Support the MoC in developing teacher training and training-of-trainers courses in ICT-related subjects.
d. Create opportunities through which students, in particular those in remote locations, can be exposed to technology. These could include Mobile Internet Units, i.e., buses equipped with computers and Internet access that visit schools; Networking Academies that give students and teachers the skills to design, build, and maintain computer networks; and tele-centres that would be operational in schools during and after class hours.
e. Explore and support opportunities for distance education, including through the establishment of centres that provide access to international online courses. Distance education expands resources available to both students and employees and can compensate for a lack of trained faculty and supervisors.
f. Establish partnerships with the private sector to develop and provide ICT training for business personnel.
g. Work toward the preparation and official international adoption of official computer-based fonts applicable to the educational and business languages of Afghanistan.
h. Coordinate with public agencies to train civil servants in ICT skills and applications.
i. Enhance public access to information and opportunities through educational radio programmes; distribution of written materials where appropriate; and establishment of kiosks at public locations (such as airports, ministry departments etc.