20 Afghanistan Education facts (all about schools in Afghanistan)

The Best Facts About School in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a mountainous country located between Central and South Asia. Its capital city is Kabul, which counts over 4.4 million inhabitants.

An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its education. In light of that, I have listed my 20 best facts about Afghanistan schooling, and I hope you will love them:

1. Over 3 million children are out of school in Afghanistan

By reading this list of facts, you will quickly understand why education is a huge issue in Afghanistan, but this first one is a very good indicator.

More than 3 million children are not currently in school in the country, and 60 percent of them are female.

2. Around half of young Afghans are illiterate

Unfortunately, while the Afghan government spent more and more in the past few years, it did not spend that much on education.

Because of that, half of Afghans aged 15 to 24 are illiterate. We can only hope that the country will solve this issue in the upcoming years.

3. Way more than half of the Afghan population is illiterate

This is probably the most shocking fact on this list: you might hope that almost half of the population of every country would be literate today, but in Afghanistan for instance that is far from being the case. Merely 38 percent of Afghans are literate!

4. There are over 9 million Afghan children in school

Proportionally, the 300,000 students attending colleges and universities in Afghanistan are not that much compared to the overall 9 million children in school, but it is still a good sign for the future of the country. Hopefully, more and more students will go to college in the coming times.

5. The United States has helped Afghanistan with its education

Believe it or not, the United States has helped Afghan education by funding training for… 480,000 new teachers!

More precisely, this was done by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This is truly a nice initiative considering how critical the situation is.

6. Afghan children almost never drop out of school

While many children are out of school in Afghanistan, if they start it, they almost always finish it.

85 percent of children in primary school finish primary school. As for secondary school, 94 percent of the boys and 90 percent of the girls complete it.

7. Afghan literacy rates vary a lot depending on the region

While the overall literacy rate is extremely low in Afghanistan, the one in urban areas is completely different. For men, it reaches as high as 68 percent, which is still not ideal, but definitely a whole other story compared to the national 38 percent.

8. Many other USAID initiatives are greatly helping the education system in Afghanistan

One of the major projects of USAID is called “Strengthening Education in Afghanistan”. It aims to improve the accessibility as well as the quality of education in the country.

Their main contributions are granting scholarships to 710 women as well as training dozens of thousands of teachers.

9. While the Taliban ruled the country, college enrollment was extremely low

You must have heard of the Taliban, a dictatorship that ruled the country of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, and that was overthrown by the United States.

Well, during that period, college enrollment was minimal: only 1 percent of college-aged students actually went to college!

10. Afghanistan education system suffered a lot from the conflicts

Historically, the country of Afghanistan was often at war. More than three decades of conflict resulted in a very poor education system, and many of the country’s children still dream of completing primary school.

In recent years, this has been getting better though.

11. Less than half of Afghan teachers are actually qualified

Many obstacles stand between Afghanistan’s children and their education, and one of the biggest ones is definitely the lack of competence from their teachers. Unfortunately, only 48 percent of Afghan teachers have the minimum academic qualifications, which is equivalent to an Associate Degree.

12. In some places in Afghanistan, children just cannot go to school

The high number of Afghan children that are still out of school to this day can be explained by many things.

In many regions, there are just not enough schools, to begin with. Add on top of that the mountainous areas, lack of transportation, and long walks and you will understand the numbers a bit better.

13. There is an American University in Afghanistan

The American University of Afghanistan, or AUAF, is the first private, independent, and non-profit university in the country.

It is always looking to give more educational opportunities to women, and it is made up of 41 percent of women. Considering Afghanistan’s history, it is quite impressive.

14. Afghanistan is a harsh land and that also affects education

On top of having rough landscapes and geographical barriers, Afghanistan is also affected by natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, and landslides.

This means that parents are always very concerned about their children’s safety and often prevent them from going to school. Nature also damages education.

15. UNICEF has been helping Afghanistan a lot in the past years

Throughout the years, UNICEF has been working with the Afghan government in order to provide quality education for as many children as possible.

Thanks to them, there are more children in school, a better education, a larger institutional capacity, and emergency preparedness and response.

There you go, you now know all of my 15 best facts about Afghan education. But wait, do not go anywhere: there are still 5 more, dedicated to Afghanistan education for girls:

Facts About Women Education in Afghanistan

Women’s education has always been a problem in Afghanistan. Because of this, I absolutely needed to talk about it in the last facts about women education in Afghanistan:

16. Only 33 percent of Afghan teachers are female

There are very few female Afghan teachers. In some provinces of the country, this rate drops as low as… 1.8 percent.

The average in the country is 33 percent though, and in some other regions, the rate grows to 74 percent.

17. Afghan girls go to school for almost half as long as Afghan boys

On average, Afghan boys spend 13 years in school. While that is not very surprising, what will shock you is when you compare them to girls: they only spend around 8 years in school!

This is most probably due to the local culture and traditions, in which girls need to help take care of the house… or get married.

18. There is a very low girls’ enrolment because of the Afghan society

Very few girls stay in school for a long time in Afghanistan, unfortunately. This is mainly due to traditional norms and practices about women’s role in the local society.

Another reason is probably that there are too few female teachers, even more in rural zones.

19. 16 percent of Afghan schools are girls-only

Among all Afghan schools, only 16 percent of them are girls-only. Their attendance is quite low though, mainly because of the lack of proper sanitation facilities.

Ever since the United States started helping the country, the situation has only been getting better, so hopefully, girls-only schools will thrive in the near future.

20. Afghan girls get married very young, and leave school

Last but not least, the other reason why Afghan girls do not stay in school for very long is that they get married very young: 17 percent of them get married before the age of 15!

Thus, they stop going to school and take care of their family and their home instead.

So there you have them, these were all my 20 schools in Afghanistan facts. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today.

In case you want to learn more about the rest of the country, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about:

Afghan School Hours

Let’s keep going with our next part, dedicated to Afghanistan school hours. The typical school schedule in one country can often be very different from your own, and it’s always interesting to have more details on how students go on about their day.

Afghanistan Primary School Schedule

Primary school in Afghanistan is for children aged 7 to 13, so it lasts for 6 years. There are two parallel education systems for primary school: religious education at mosques and governmental academic education at state schools.

During these years, pupils learn the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic, and national culture. The school year lasts from the last week of March to the end of November, and the school day lasts for about 4 hours. Girls usually go to school at different times than boys. School is 6 days a week, from Saturday to Thursday.

Afghanistan Secondary School Schedule

Middle school in Afghanistan is for children aged 13 to 16, so it lasts for 3 years.

The education is still academic, just like in many other countries in the world. If students want to reach high school, they need to pass an exam at the end of this phase.

Afghan High School Schedule

High school in Afghanistan is for children aged 16 to 19, so it lasts for 3 years.

At this stage, students can choose two different paths: continuing the academic path for 3 years to perhaps go on to university or study specific subjects like agriculture, arts, commerce, and teacher training. At the end of each program, there is a “bacculuria” examination.

General Facts About Schooling in Afghanistan

This last part is dedicated to general facts about schooling in Afghanistan. More specifically, we’ll check 2 key figures that will give you a better understanding of the education level in Afghanistan.

Enrollment in tertiary education for Afghanistan: 3.65%

(Average for regions: Sub-Saharan Africa: 8.6% | South Asia: 20.8% | Arab States: 36.4% | East Asia: 36.5% | Latin America: 43.3% | Europe and Central Asia: 62% | North America: 84%)

Data from World Bank EdStats/UNESCO

Afghanistan literacy rate: 38%

(Average for regions: Sub-Saharan Africa: 65.3% | South Asia: 72.9% | Arab States: 79.4% | Latin America: 93.7% | East Asia: 95.8% | Europe and Central Asia: 98.5%)

Data from World Bank EdStats/UNESCO

More Education Facts!

Do you want even more education facts about other countries?

Check out these facts:

• Education in Iraq
• Education in Saudi Arabia
• Education in Israel

Or click here to see ALL the education facts up on the blog!

The Full List of 20 Afghan School Facts

1. Over 3 million children are out of school in Afghanistan
2. Around half of young Afghans are illiterate
3. Way more than half of the Afghan population is illiterate
4. There are over 9 million Afghan children in school
5. The United States has helped Afghanistan with its education
6. Afghan children almost never drop out of school
7. Afghan literacy rates vary a lot depending on the region
8. Many other USAID initiatives are greatly helping Afghanistan’s education system
9. While the Taliban ruled the country, college enrollment was extremely low
10. Afghanistan’s education system suffered a lot from the conflicts
11. Less than half of Afghan teachers are actually qualified
12. In some places in Afghanistan, children just cannot go to school
13. There is an American University in Afghanistan
14. Afghanistan is a harsh land and that also affects education
15. UNICEF has been helping Afghanistan a lot in the past years
16. Only 33 percent of Afghan teachers are female
17. Afghan girls go to school for almost half as long as Afghan boys
18. There is a very low girls’ enrolment because of the Afghan society
19. 16 percent of Afghan schools are girls-only
20. Afghan girls get married very young and leave school

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