Lessons from Afghanistan

• In Event: Higher Education in Closing Spaces

Proposal

Higher education in Afghanistan has been affected by years of conflict, invasions, and political uncertainties. As a result of a change in political regimes, not only were faculty and students targeted and forced to flee the country, but higher education institutions were destroyed and looted due to chaos and anarchy. To keep the lights of educational institutions on even during the civil war and insurgencies, faculty served students despite receiving no compensation for months and years. In this presentation, we will discuss the historical development of higher education in Afghanistan, with a focus on faculty and student resilience and implications on access and quality at public and private higher education institutions.

While higher education experienced some growth after the Soviet Union’s invasion in 1979, its quality was greatly damaged as the new environment was hostile to targeted groups, including intellectuals and scholars, and resulted in the loss of faculty members and flexible standards for curriculum implementation (Babury & Hayward, 2014). Unfortunately, the environment set the stage for a loss of quality in education that has not been recovered (Hayward, 2015). Further, the country experienced a decade-long period of chaos due to civil conflict with the Mujahideen in 1992, and later the first take over of power by the Taliban in 1996, which affected all sectors including higher education (Babury & Hayward, 2014; Aturupane, 2013). During this period, not only was the physical infrastructure severely damaged and higher education properties looted, but many faculty members and staff lost their lives or fled the country (Shakir, 2012). The Taliban regime administered severe measures that banned half of the population, females, from education both in their initial period and in the current one.

Although developments in student enrollment and system expansion showed progress in terms of providing access to higher education during the democratic government (2002-2021), the system faced numerous challenges in education quality, curriculum relevance, and resources.

This presentation will reflect on the extraordinary resilience of private universities in Afghanistan in the face of challenging socio-economic and political changes over the past two years. With the fall of the Republic and the return of the Taliban in August 2021, with unprecedented uncertainties and obstacles, private universities have exemplified weathering the storms. We will share the strategies these institutions employ to navigate the multifaceted approach to maintaining educational continuity for their students.

Afghanistan's case represents private university administrators' formidable commitment to adapting and ensuring operations. It also shows how private universities are offering alternative learning spaces and resilience as public universities became increasingly under the control of the Taliban authorities. However, the threat of increased state control, coupled with decreasing student enrollment and subsequent financial obstacles, constrains private universities' resilience. Without support from the state and solidarity from international organizations, the space for private universities to operate will likely shrink and therefore lose its potential of serving as the alternate arm of higher education continuity.

Authors

• Javid Mussawy, University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Nangyalai Attal, UMass Amherst