Future generations of Afghan children at risk as instability continues

With continued violence and instability, Afghanistan is struggling to provide primary education for its children, the International Herald Tribune reported Monday. However, despite the conflict, school enrollment has increased to 6.2 million, with an astounding 33 percent of those being female.

Still, while many schools are open, the quality of teachers and textbooks leaves something to be desired. Students risk their lives traveling to school in certain areas, only to find that an estimated 20 percent of teachers are actually qualified. Some children remain out of school due to the danger brought on by the Taliban and U.S.-NATO operations. “It is better for my children to be alive even if it means they must be illiterate,” said Sayed Rasul, a father of two who has chosen to remove his daughters from school.

With intensified Taliban operations, the development of an effective education system has been severely undermined. Although the most recent minister of education, Haneef Atmar, has put together a five-year plan, he is the fifth education minister in as many years, resulting in much skepticism as to the government’s ability to properly develop a national education system.

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