A holistic view of a community based education program in Afghanistan: results from a qualitative study

• In Event: The role of communities in education in conflict and crisis

Abstract

Basic Education for Afghanistan Consortium (BEACON) operates in 12 Provinces of Afghanistan. IRC works in partnership with three INGOs- CARE, CRS, and AKF - to create learning spaces in communities where there is no government intervention to provide primary education for children and accelerated learning camps for adolescents. Underpinning these interventions is a strong component of community participation. The community is involved right from the beginning with selection of space, identification of the teacher, registration of students and continues to be involved in regular monitoring of the classes. This is done through School Management Committees (SMC – called shuras in this context) where influential men and women from the community come together to identify and address their children’s education needs. The dialogue between State actors and the shura are essential to bridge the gap between state systems and community. Though women’s participation has its own set of challenges in Afghanistan, where the role of women in society is not recognized beyond household chores, this project works actively to enable their participation through shuras and through mothers’ literacy classes. Participation of women in shura promotes girls’ enrolment and access to education. This presentation will discuss the project model and findings of a rigorous qualitative study to understand how the shuras, teachers, and MOE interact to provide children with a quality education through this alternate model for a rights-based approach to education in a country where there has only been conflict, suppression, violence and intolerance for varied viewpoints for decades.

Authors

• Nirali Mehta, International Rescue Committee

• Michelle Bellino, University of Michigan

• Bibi-Zuhra Faizi, Harvard University