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Language policy in education in Afghanistan

Education is the most necessary and valuable asset a country holds. A well educated population allows for the success and development of a country to any extent. In Afghanistan Dari and Pashto are the two main spoken languages so any other language used is the 3rd official language. This therefore means education policies in any other language are not translated as effectively as if they were delivered in either of the 2 official languages. The language policy in education in Afghanistan has changed over the years and has been effected significantly by the conflict the country has faced.

Clear communication is paramount for a successful effective education, however, there are many barriers to this including language. The language used for education effects both an individuals’ and societies development. Language policies in education have huge political implications which in turn effect societies as a whole. Fundamentally, shifting the language in which education is delivered equally impacts the knowledge taught and therefore gained by a population, therefore holding significant power politically and culturally. Ultimately the language of education underpins the direction politically of a country as the social ideas and understanding within are shifted.

I am interested in this topic as the conflict and terrorism Afghanistan has faced and is still facing has effected all areas of the country and its ability to develop. As a result of this conflict, education has been and still is at the forefront of challenges facing Afghanistan. The politics of this conflict have fundamentally affected the language policies in education for Afghanistan.

Annotated Bibliography

Education in Afghanistan: Development, Influences and Legacies since 1901- Yahia Baiza

1-The main claim is the outlining of the modernisation of the educational system in Afghanistan from 1901 through to 2012. The contextual background of the politics at each period of time is outlined and followed by the development of the education system within that period. The educational development focuses on the access, the language used, and the conflicts affecting the ability for equal access. This is then followed by the influencing factors on each period of time.

2-The evidence for the education modernisation is provided through the contextual background at each period of time and the subsequent outcomes in the access for education in both boys and girls, the language being used as the medium of instruction, and the resources available to support the education.

3-The key concepts employed by the author are the contextual political background behind the shaping of Afghanistan and specifically the shaping of the modern education system. Also, the effects the politics and conflict have on education and the language used within different periods of time. The author further explains the nationalism of Afghanistan at certain time periods through the use of language, specifically Pashto.

4-The weaknesses are that there is limited information on the language of instruction used post 2001. There is much more focus on Pashto throughout compared to Dari when now currently both are the 2 official languages. There is limited information on the level of children in education and the difference in boys and girls literacy rates currently.

5-From reading this source I gained an in-depth knowledge into the history of Afghanistan as a country and the underlying political influences on society as a whole. I further understood how these political influences affected the education system clearly at each period of time under different rule. Throughout the modernisation of the education system the main official language used changes, and the political influence behind this is thoroughly explained.

The condition of English in multilingual Afghanistan- Hywel Coleman

1-The main claim of this reading is the recognition of multilingualism within Afghanistan.

2-The evidence behind the multilingualism is the statistical data provided stating initially the number of Pashto and Dari speakers and further the breakdown of the amount of speakers of the other remaining 34 recognised languages.

3-The author’s key concepts recognised are the multilingualism in the country alongside the recognition and teaching of mother tongue as a subject rather than a language of instruction.

4-A limitation of this reading is there is a lack of content on the multilingualism development in Afghanistan throughout different time frames of the country. The reading doesn’t go into how the multilingualism was effected by conflict and specifically the Taliban ruling.

5-From reading this source I gained a much greater understanding of the continued importance of recognising and teaching mother tongue. Equally I learnt how multilingualism effects Afghanistan and the education system with some controversy on the main language of instruction moving forwards.

History of education in Afghanistan - Mir Hekmatullah Sadat- March 2004

1-The main claim is the history of the modern education system and the use of language to strengthen national ideology.

2-The evidence to support this claim is the political context provided with the dates and how this effected the education system at the time and the language used.

3-The key concept the author employs is the changing language used as the medium of instruction throughout the Taliban takeover and the modernisation of the educational system during the attempted nationalisation of Afghanistan.

4-A limitation of this reading is it touches on bilingualism but doesn’t go into depth about the policies to improve the Dari and Pashto bilingual model as mediums of instruction.

5-From reading this source I gained a much greater understanding into why Pashto was pushed forwards throughout periods of time as the official language due to the want of strengthening national ideology.

Taliban attitudes and policies towards education - Rahmatullah Amiri and Ashley Jackson - February 2021

1-The main claim is the difference in the attitudes the Taliban had towards education before and after 2001.

2-The evidence for this is the change from the lack of educational planning and the capacity to carry out the education and the levels of children involved in primary education before, compared to post 2001 planned phases of education with higher school enrolment.

3-The key concept the author employs is looking at the attitudes in 3 sections and how these have changed over time and therefore how the educational system has not only changed but also how it is viewed.

4-This reading lacks information on the languages of instruction used throughout the time of the ruling of the Taliban and the educational policies put in place with the development of the educational system.

5-From this source I learnt how the educational attainment has significantly increased since 2001 and how the educational system as a whole has been continually effected by the Taliban. There has been a dramatic shift from a sector dominated by deprivation and disarray, with a focus on education to restore islamic values, to a sector targeted by violence and conflict, and now moving towards a shift to get education back on track and access open for as much of the population as possible.

Learning in Afghanistan - Dr Tariq Rahman - January 2020

1-The main claim is the languages used as the medium of instruction in education, the levels of Dari and Pashto speakers, and the literacy rates for men and women.

2-The author provides statistical data on the literacy rates and the number of Dari and Pashto speakers.

3-The author discusses the use of English and Arabic in Afghanistan alongside Dari and Pashto. Further, they also touch on the use of a 3rd official language in areas where the majority speak a different language.

4-The main weakness is the statistical evidence provided doesn’t match up directly with other data from different sources.

5-From reading this source I learnt about the importance of the different languages used throughout Afghanistan and ensuring these languages have the opportunity to be stated as the 3rd official language when they are spoken by the majority. Also, the importance of the teaching of English for pragmatic value, and Arabic for foundational texts of Islam and religious madrasas.

Draft

Overview

Afghanistan has faced significant challenges developing a modern education system since 1901. Throughout the history of the country significant developments have been made, however, the political unrest and conflict Afghanistan has faced, especially from the Taliban has caused colossal damage to the education system and therefore negatively effecting Afghanistan for years to come. The sustainable development of the country is impacted due to generational catastrophe where disturbance of learning in one group significantly effects the education within that generation.

Language poses as a very important asset to a country, the official language used effects the intra and interstate politics, the social cohesion of a society, and therefore the development of both individuals and nations as a whole. The status of the official language in turn effects which medium of instruction is used for the delivery of education, which impacts the development of a country in a specific time period.

In Afghanistan both Dari and Pashto are the two official languages of the country, however this hasn’t always been the case and the language policy within Afghanistan and the education system has changed over the years and has been significantly effected by the political instability and conflict the nation has faced, specifically with the involvement of the Taliban.

Pre Taliban (1901-1996)

The first steps at a creation of a modern education system for Afghanistan occurred during the reign of Amir Habibullah (1901-1919). The national independence and rise of Shah Amanuallah to leadership in 1919 is when the foundations of education in Afghanistan were established. Under Amanullah’s rule the ministry of education was added (1922) and the 1st primary schools in major towns, villages, and cities were further established. During his reign, both Pashto and Dari were considered the official languages of Afghanistan. In 1927, in an attempt to bring the Afghanistan education system closer to the standards of education in Turkey, Egypt, and Europe the first school with English as the main medium of instruction was founded, Ghazi Lycee.

In Afghanistan, language has continually been a topic of controversy. The conflicting politics surrounding language has effected the education system and more specifically the language used as mediums of instruction in education across the country overtime.

1936 saw an attempt to strengthen both national identity and state claims on Pashtunistan (now Pakistans North West Frontier Province (NWFP)), through recognising and using Pashto as the official language, and replacing Dari with it as the language of instruction.

However, in 1946 the government policy on language changed to a bilingual model of language instruction with both Pashto and Dari.

In 1989 when the Soviet Union left, the already weak education system was further damaged through the ceasing of US aid. However, at the same time funding from Saudi Arabia tripled, with large amounts of this aid going towards building madrassas, islamic religious schools. After 10 years there were around 40,000 madrassas in the Pakistan Afghanistan boarder area. Within this area the Pakistan government were responsible for refugee camps and schools in the NWFP, and here they only used their 7 sponsored Dari languages.

Afghanistan is a multilingual country, and Dari has been used as the Lingua Franca for a significant period of time, this is the language used in a country where many people don’t share the same first language to ensure effective communication.

Historically, Dari has also been preferred by many people because of the cultural heritage it holds to Afghanistan, many scientific books alongside articles and documents were translated into Dari much before Pashto. Equally, many rulers have often preferred it as a way to interact with the rest of the world. All of these aspects of Dari as a language are what Pashto does not carry.

During Taliban (1996-2001)

Much of the Taliban grew up in madrasas or orphanages in Pakistan.

The majority of the Taliban are Pashtuns, and they have been associated with Pashtun nationalism. During their rule there was a huge advance of Pashtun with the militants rewriting Dari signs and textbooks, and imposing Pashtun on non-Pashtuns.

Coming into power the Taliban closed down schools, especially for girls. During the takeover only religious studies for boys in Madrassas were allowed. Their anti-women policies meant female teachers were banned altogether. Therefore, the quality of education significantly decreased and the emphasis went to religious teaching. The teaching which did go ahead followed discriminatory language policy favouring Pashto over Dari. With the takeover, saw the lack of education curriculum and national policy, financial and human resource shortage, and lack of capacity to rebuild destroyed school buildings, thus, leading to the collapse of the modern education system. The decline of the modern education system saw the Taliban support the development of madrasa education.

Post 2001

Post 2001 the education system had been and continued to be detrimentally effected by the ruling of the Taliban. The attitude the Taliban now had towards education was destructive. There were 3 phases to how education was going to be navigated; opposition and hostility, acceptance, and co-option. They viewed schools as a symbol of foreign occupation and therefore targeted attacks on schools and teachers were encouraged. In 2007 around 1 student or teacher was killed a day, and in 2008 subsequently, half of the schools in the South were closed due to violence.

The constitution of Afghanistan (2003) plays an influential role in the development of the education system towards how it is run today. The constitution encourages languages other than Dari and Pashto to be used if the majority of people in a given area speak this language then it becomes the ‘3rd official language’.

A major breakthrough in the rebuilding of the education system post 2001 was the textbook development project led by UNESCO where over 5 million copies of over 175 different textbooks in both Dari and Pashto were developed in 2002, and was completed in 2010. This was one of the first steps in developing the education system with both languages equal.

UNESCO further supported the development of a strategy paper in which the development and reconstruction of the modern education system in accordance with Islam is recommended.

Current

The current state of the language policy in the education system in Afghanistan is following the National Education strategic plan, the ministry of education is aiming at bringing the 2 systems of education, modern and madrasa closer together through adding islamic content to general education and adding general education content into the Islamic curriculum.

Dari and Pashto are both the official languages and post Taliban 1/3rd of the schools are Pashto speaking and 2/3rds are Dari speaking.

Arabic and English are both taught today, Arabic as it is the language of foundational texts of islam, and madrasas focus on it, and English for the pragmatic value it adds.

The resounding feeling for the education system to continue to develop without losing the progress already made, is to ensure schools are neutral places of learning, instead of being governmental and political objects of power.

The current state of Afghanistan is unsteady with the resurgence of the Taliban in mid to late 2021, significantly effecting the state of the language policy in use and the education system as a whole.

References

Education in Afghanistan: Development, Influences and Legacies since 1901- Yahia Baiza

The condition of English in multilingual Afghanistan- Hywel Coleman

History of education in Afghanistan - Mir Hekmatullah Sadat- March 2004

Taliban attitudes and policies towards education - Rahmatullah Amiri and Ashley Jackson - February 2021

Learning in Afghanistan - Dr Tariq Rahman - January 2020

'''What will happen to Afghanistan's national languages? - Austin Bodetti - July, 2019'''

UNESCO Country Strategy 2018 - 2021 The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan UNESCO Kabul

Education Policy Today Will Determine What Afghanistan Is In 2020 - Ajmal Samadi - August, 2009

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan January 26, 2004

UNESCO sounds a warning on what is at stake for education in Afghanistan October, 2021