Afghanistan : promoting education during times of increased fragility

The past thirty years of conflict and political unrest in Afghanistan has decimated the country’s education system in terms of staffing, premises, curricula, and student attendance, for both male and female students. The education sector has been at the forefront of the political battles and conflicts between competing interest groups during the wars of resistance and ideological and ethnic conflicts that have plagued the country over the past few decades (Changing Profile of Education in Afghanistan, 2013). The changing political ideologies have taken a toll on the quality of education services and weakened governance. The current Government is committed to tackling issues of security, poverty reduction, governance and shared and inclusive growth. It sees service delivery as playing a dual role in Afghanistan: promoting social cohesion and trust in public institutions, while laying the foundation for job creation and growth. Within the context of increased fragility that Afghanistan has been experiencing, the current report aims to provide an up-to-date analysis of the country’s education sector, including the use of public expenditures spanning over the past six years. Supported by recent administrative and household data and using the information from a primary survey of off-budget funding, the report provides more insights on key aspects of the education system performance and provides recommendations for reforms along the themes of outcomes and expenditures.