Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. (© AP/WWP)

05 December 2005

Afghan Principals Work To Rebuild Shattered Education System, December 5, 2005

(Female educators participate in training course in United States)

By Todd Bullock
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- For a group of Afghan female educational administrators visiting the United States to participate in an intensive training workshop, rebuilding Afghanistan's education system is more than just a job. It is a shared commitment to build a functioning education system for the future of all Afghans.

Kaamila Pishaymaan, a native of Kabul, describes the period of Taliban rule as "a disaster for the education of all Afghans." She said, "The Taliban closed all the schools except for those teaching religion. They also banned women from any education. This forced us to secretly teach at great risk because they killed those who were caught."

Pishaymaan is principal of the Maryam High School in Kabul and has more than 23 years of experience in education.

She is one of 12 women who have spent the last six weeks in the United States studying administrative educational skills as part of the Afghan Teachers Education Program (ATEP) sponsored by the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the University of Nebraska. The principals have learned methodologies such as classroom management, teacher training, adult education and teaching the disabled.

The ATEP participants arrived in the United States October 27 and will remain until December 13, according to the State Department,

Upon their return to Afghanistan, the Afghan Ministry of Education will assist them in conducting workshops for other Afghan teachers and principals.

Reeta Shareefi, a headmistress at the Afshar Girls High School in Kabul, said, "After the fall of the Taliban and the birth of democracy in Afghanistan, the teachers and principals are now able to educate not only the Afghan children but anyone who has been denied the opportunity to learn."

"We [Afghanistan's teachers and principals] have the opportunity to provide a future for our people," she added.

"Though small in size, we are working hard to educate many different types of students from children to adult learners," Shareefi said.

According to Shareefi, Afghanistan's Ministry of Education allows elementary schools to accept adult students, regardless of age, because of the Taliban's restriction of education.

"Almost 10 percent of our classes are made of adult pupils who want to learn to read and as a result we have to use instruction methods to accommodate their needs," she said.

"As a result of the Taliban, many of the school buildings and facilities in Kabul and throughout the country were destroyed," Pishaymaan said. "We have the task of rebuilding and reorganizing our educational institutions as well as managing large classroom sizes."

Both Pishaymaan and Shareefi said one of the most useful workshops the administrators attended was how to organize and divide classrooms into smaller and more manageable groups.

"Our largest problem has been the lack of adequate facilities as well as large class sizes," Shareefi said. "Through the workshops, we have learned management techniques to reorganize our class sizes as well as to make the most out of our resources."

The two women spoke of their pleasant surprise at how warm and hospitable the American people have been to them.

Shareefi said, "We were not sure how the American people would receive us but we found them to be very hospitable and hard working."

She added, "Our host families were also very sensitive to our cultural needs and accommodated our religious needs as well as introduced us to their communities. This was fascinating because I saw that Americans care for one another and work hard for their country."

Shareefi also said she was impressed by Americans' sensitivities toward the mentally and physically handicapped.

Pishaymaan echoed Shareefi's comments and added, "I look forward to returning to Afghanistan and sharing my experiences in the United States with my teachers and students."

The Afghan women are visiting the Washington area on the final two weeks of their study program. Following six weeks in Omaha, Nebraska, where they lived with host families, they have come to the nation's capital to attend an additional workshop on education for the disabled at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and also will meet with senior State Department officials.

Both women spoke highly of their experiences in the United States and the training they received in the program.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for Afghanistan, especially for the women. Through the methods we learned in the United States, we will be able to return and teach these methods to more teachers in order to help our students and provide a foundation for the future of Afghanistan," Pishaymaan said.

"While the Taliban was in power, families were not interested in education but with our new democracy, more and more Afghan families are becoming enthusiastic about the educational opportunities for all of their children," Shareefi said.

For related information, see Rebuilding Afghanistan.