Huge teacher training programme launched

One of the largest educational training programmes ever undertaken in Afghanistan was officially launched at a ceremony in the southern city of Kandahar on Thursday by the UK-based NGO Islamic Relief (IR). "We want to give the lead role of our project to the relevant ministry," country representative for IR told IRIN in Kandahar. Focusing on primary schooling, the project started at the end of March, but was officially launched this week. "We cannot do secondary education until there is a proper national curriculum," he explained. Under the scheme, 40 schools would be rehabilitated in the city. "Our goal is to ensure that the primary education system in Kandahar is functional," he added. As part of the education programme, IR is training teachers in the city, formally the spiritual stronghold of the brutal Taliban regime, who had banned girls over the age of 12 from school and stopped women from working. "We have identified 18 Afghan teachers who will be master trainers and will pass on their skills to some 260 Afghans, both men and women," he maintained. It was crucial to get the education system up and running in urban areas, which would hopefully mushroom out into rural areas, Ali said. Highlighting the need for provincial education authorities to be self-sufficient in years to come, he said there was a strong need for capacity building. "They need to be able to continue monitoring schools to make sure they are moving in the right direction," he explained. During the launch ceremony, held at the municipality building in Kandahar, Afghan education officials thanked IR and said education was a key factor in the development of the region in the long term. Although the department of education faces incredible challenges, officials said they were committed to ensuring that all Afghans had access to education. Established in 1984 in the city of Birmingham, UK, IR started work in Afghanistan in the early 1990's. Development projects in the country also include water and sanitation, micro-credit schemes and emergency response to natural disasters.