Promotion of Basic Education in Afghanistan: Practical Learning and Occupational Orientation

Location

Afghanistan

Duration

2011 - 2013

Donor

GIZ

Budget

1.663.810 EUR

Description and Deliverables

Despite tremendous progress during the last years in the field of education, in particular in terms of enrolment rates, the education sector has been continuously characterized by a number of serious deficiencies. The major challenge for the sector is the establishment of an operational education system in a crisis-sensitive context which is able to contribute to the overall stabilisation of the country. In the area of primary education, the low quality of teaching and its low relevance for the further levels of education as well as for an income-generated employment are core issues for the project.

The project is essentially contributing to the “Development Offensive” established for the Northern Provinces of Afghanistan by the German Government in the framework of support to the education sector. Services are provided which serve capacity building in the Ministry of Education. In addition, innovative models and concepts for a practice-oriented teacher training, the promotion of young women to become teachers, professional orientation and practical learning in primary education as well as extra-school activities for young people to be implemented in the 5 Northern Provinces are considered for implementation.

The component "Practical learning and occupational orientation" is new in the German technical cooperation basic education program. The goal of this component is improved relevance of basic education regarding occupational orientation and practical learning.
Lesson plans and educational content for occupational orientation and practical learning for grades 7-9 (lower secondary) are to be developed, tested and implemented in the practical schools of the five priority provinces in northern Afghanistan (Badakhshan, Takhar, Kunduz, Balkh, Sar-e Pol) until 2013. Equivalent concepts of occupational orientation and practical learning as modules, based on agriculture and local industry, are to be integrated and implemented in study programs of TTCs in the five northern provinces until 2013 as well.

Curricular and methodological approaches and strategies aimed at providing guidance for life after school and on the world of work are developed and tested. The measures will be implemented in the five northern regions. As part of a local cooperation, models of cooperation with the centers for agricultural education and training, which will be established in every district of Afghanistan, and existing vocational schools should be developed. The measures will be continuously evaluated and successful models are generalized. The concepts and tools should then be distributed throughout the country (scaling up).

Services

Establishment of a situation analysis regarding the curriculum for grades 7-9 and teaching methods
Establishment of a needs analysis of the labor market or other income-generating employment opportunities
Identification of starting points for practical learning and occupational orientation in the existing subjects and / or new subjects as part of the curricula
Developing a training offer with participatory and practical teaching methods
Development of appropriate teaching and learning materials
Testing of newly developed training programs and materials in Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) and selected schools in the five northern provinces
Education and training of lecturers in the TTC's and the five northern provinces and of multipliers of teacher education in matters of planning and application of newly developed approaches and measures concerning occupational orientation and practical learning