Prospects (2007) 37:427–448

DOI 10.1007/s11125-008-9058-x

OPEN FILE

Primary and secondary curriculum development

in Afghanistan

Dakmara Georgescu

Published online: 2 August 2008

UNESCO IBE 2008

Abstract The article analyzes curriculum processes and products pertaining to the overall
reconstruction of Afghanistan’s education system after 2002. With the support of several
international agencies, including UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education (IBE), as
well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education
succeeded in making important progress with regard to quality education, curriculum
planning and design. Based on a careful analysis of needs, new curriculum frameworks for
primary and secondary education were developed over the period 2002–2006, and sylla-
buses and textbooks for primary and secondary education will be developed and
disseminated in schools across the country. However, many challenges remain to be tackled,
especially with regard to the dissemination of a new curriculum culture and the writing,
printing and distribution of quality syllabuses and textbooks at all education levels. The
article highlights both the achievements and the obstacles standing in the way of compre-
hensive curriculum reforms taking place in the difficult context of reconstructing a cohesive
societal infrastructure in a country, such as Afghanistan, that is affected by conflict.

Keywords Educational reconstruction
Capacity development
Curriculum framework

Introduction: Afghanistan’s context

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Afghanistan (Islamic Republic of Afghani-

stan) became the focus of the world’s attention following the tragic events of 11 September
2001 and the subsequent war of 2001–2002 against its Taliban1 regime, which was accused
of having encouraged and supported international terrorism targeting the United States and

1
The Taliban formed the Islamist Party that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 based on a strict
observance of Sharia, the Islamic religious law. Originally, the Taliban were members of the ‘‘Students of
Islamic Knowledge Movement’’ which took shape in Pakistan (particularly in the porous border region
between Pakistan and Afghanistan).

D. Georgescu (&)
UNESCO-IBE, P.O. Box 199, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
e-mail: d.georgescu@ibe.unesco.org

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the Western way of life. Shortly before 11 September 2001, images of the destruction by
the Taliban of the two giant statues of Buddha in Bamyan triggered waves of resentment
across the planet against such barbaric measures aimed at annihilating the vestiges of pre-
Islamic cultures in Afghanistan. The images clearly revealed to the whole world what the
people of Afghanistan had endured for years on a daily basis, namely the deeds of a brutal
regime for whom intolerance and terror became the very fundamental doctrine of
governance.
The Taliban regime was the last stage in a long period of internal wars and foreign
occupation of Afghanistan that resulted in the complete collapse of the country’s economy
and its societal network, including—perhaps above all—the total destruction of its edu-
cation system. Once a (relatively) stable monarchy and a reference country for Central
Asia, after 1973, Afghanistan became a war-torn society for almost three decades. In 1973,
Mohamed Daoud Khan became the first President of Afghanistan, following a coup d’état
against the former king, Zahir Shah, who had ruled from 1933. The Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan (December 1979), rather than bolstering stability, triggered a ravaging civil
war in the country between pro- and anti-Soviet factions. The Mujahideen first distin-
guished themselves among the latter. However, in-fighting followed by a power imbalance
and generalized chaos allowed the Taliban to occupy first Kabul (1996) and then vast
regions of the country (Griffiths 1981, updated edition 2001, and Vogelsang 2002). Under
the Taliban, girls were practically banned from public schools (as were female teachers),
while boys’ education took place mainly in madrasas (Islamic religious schools) in
compliance with religious principles, whereas ‘‘secular’’ subjects and content were almost
totally replaced by the subjects and perspectives of Islamic education.
By the end of the 2001–2002 war, Afghanistan had one of the most underdeveloped
economies and highest rates of illiteracy in the world:
The destruction of communications and irrigation systems has severely weakened the
economy. The disruption and disorganization of the education and health systems
have been compounded by the previous exclusion of girls and women from public life.
A high proportion of the Afghan population of some 26 million has been displaced,
including some 6 million who took refuge in neighbouring countries (United Nations
Educational Cultural Scientific Organization (UNESCO) 2002, p. 12).
According to international data, Afghanistan is today one of the poorest countries in the
world, lagging behind many other developing nations in terms of human development
indicators, such as per capita gross domestic product (GDP), life expectancy, level of
literacy, infant mortality, overall mortality and educational access and retention rates
(United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2004) (Table 1).
As stated in the 2003 Report of the Independent High Commission of Education for
Afghanistan, ‘‘in 1999 there were 875,000 students, including 64,100 females in 3,100
schools and education centres throughout the country. The average enrolment rate was
29.4% (52.6 for boys and 4.5% for girls) for an estimated population of 25.8 million. Adult
literacy for 15-year-olds and above was estimated to be at 20–30%’’ (Independent High
Commission of Education for Afghanistan (IHCEA) 2003, p. 1). After the 2001–2002 war,
the country’s population2 was faced with both new challenges and opportunities. In 2002,

2
Afghanistan’s population is composed of different ethnicities (Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimak,
Turkmen and Baloch, amongst others), speaking different languages. The most common languages spoken
in Afghanistan are Persian (Dari dialects) and Pashto. Both Dari and Pashto are the official languages of the
country.

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Primary and secondary curriculum development in Afghanistan 429

Table 1 Human development indicators (HDI), 2002

Country Literacy rate (%) Gross enrolment (%) Life expectancy Per capita HDI
at birth (years) GDP (US$) ranking

Sierra Leone 36 45 34.3 520 177

Afghanistana 28.7 44.93 44.5 822 173
Pakistan 41.5 37 60.8 1,940 142
Tajikistan 99.5 73 68.6 980 116
Iran 77.1 69 70.1 6,690 101
a
Due to the unavailability of data, Afghanistan was not included in the Human Development Report, 2004.
The rank of 173rd is where Afghanistan would have been placed had it been included in the report
Source: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2004, p. 18).

the Loya Jirga (the Afghan traditional, non-permanent National Assembly) nominated a
Transitional Government (the Afghan Interim Authority) which, in turn, set up a National
Commission to Review the Constitution of Afghanistan. The new Afghanistan Constitution
was adopted in January 2004, followed by presidential elections in December 2004 and
general (legislative) elections in September 2005. New Ministries of Education (MoE) and
Higher Education (MoHE) were (re-) created, first as part of the Afghan Interim Authority
and then in the government resulting from the 2005 elections. Political stability, is how-
ever, still threatened by ‘‘warlordism’’ and the resurrection of the Taliban movements in
several provinces of Afghanistan, especially in the south and east. While efforts are being
made to revitalize strategic economic and communication sectors, in many provinces
people’s subsistence still depends largely on the poppy crop—Afghanistan being one of the
largest opium suppliers in the world.
Fully aware of the fact that school facilities were almost totally lacking, as were
learning resources and qualified teachers, the new Ministry of Education decided never-
theless to tackle several priority areas at full speed, among them being curriculum and
textbook development. While the country was finally enjoying some stability after more
than three decades of war and population displacement, the Ministry of Education had to
cope with two major challenges: on one hand, the return to schools of millions of students,
including girls, which was possible with the support of the international community,
including UNICEF’s ‘‘Back to School Campaign’’, and, on the other, the schooling of
returnees from neighbouring countries. While data are not necessarily reliable, the Ministry
of Education claimed that in the school year 2003/2004 the school population had almost
doubled.
Despite the many problems that the Ministry of Education had to deal with, decisions
were taken in co-operation with international donors and educational partners to proceed
simultaneously with the reconstruction of the ‘‘hard’’ parts of the education system
(i.e. school premises; textbooks and other resources), as well as of its ‘‘soft’’ parts,
namely learning contents and methods, school organization, and school and classroom
management.
For more than three decades the only form of curriculum that Afghans used consisted
of textbooks. While in the 1960s and 1970s American universities (among them the
Teachers College, Columbia University) assisted the Ministry of Education with the
development of syllabuses for all learning subjects and grades (i.e. scope and sequence)
as a basis for textbook development, over the years of war the use of syllabuses was
entirely ignored. On the one hand, there were no longer any human resources to deal

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with such curriculum technicalities (as there was no unified education system). On the
other, since the Soviets had imposed their own syllabuses, even the concept of ‘‘sylla-
bus’’ became rejected by the population because of its association with the Soviet
occupation.
Consequently, immediately after the war, curriculum development meant simply
ensuring textbook supplies to students based on cheap printing in Pakistan of primers
developed in co-operation with the University of Nebraska, published and distributed with
the financial support of USAID. It was not at all surprising, then, that instead of the
‘‘Curriculum and Textbook Department’’, the appropriate office in the Ministry of Edu-
cation was called the ‘‘Compilation and Translation Department’’. Its main functions
consisted of ‘‘translating’’ books from neighbouring countries and ‘‘compiling’’ sufficiently
satisfactory textbooks for students. It is easy to understand why such activities were neither
providing students with relevant, up-to-date information nor equipping them with
knowledge, skills and attitudes in a consistent manner. There was no appropriate selection
and organization of the learning content, nor any horizontal and vertical harmonization of
learning objectives and content, teaching and learning activities, including assessment
procedures.
The expression ‘‘scope and sequence’’ is used in English-speaking countries to des-
ignate the selection of learning content, as well as how the content is organized
(sequenced) across the curriculum continuum. Scope and sequence is sometimes equated
with syllabuses (‘‘organizing documents in the area of instruction’’; see Eash 1991, p. 71)
or curriculum frameworks. However, syllabuses and frameworks usually contain more
elements than content selection and organization (i.e. aims and objectives; learning
outcomes; prescribed methodology for the teacher; guidance for assessment). In
Afghanistan we used the term ‘‘syllabuses’’ to define the selection and organization of
learning experiences and opportunities for students in the context of specific learning
areas and subjects.

A new curriculum framework for primary education (2002–2004)

The Tehran workshop

I became involved in the process of curriculum development in Afghanistan in 2002,

following joint efforts by UNICEF and UNESCO to provide technical assistance to the
Ministry of Education (Compilation and Translation Department) for the development of a
new curriculum framework for Primary and Secondary Education. Such a curriculum
framework was envisaged as a comprehensive document, incorporating a new vision of a
unified education and curriculum system in the country, after decades of disruption and
fragmentation. For more than three decades Afghanistan did not have a ‘‘national curric-
ulum’’, nor was it possible to ensure quality control and quality learning outcomes that
were assessed against relevant criteria in a reliable way.
Since 2001, as a UNICEF consultant seconded to the United Nations Mission in Ko-
sovo—Department of Education and Science (UNMIK-DES), I had provided assistance to
a Curriculum Core Team in Kosovo to develop a new Kosovo Curriculum Framework:
White Discussion Paper.3 Consequently, UNICEF invited me to take part in a similar

3
The Kosovo Curriculum Framework: White Discussion Paper is available on-line at: http://www.
see-educoop.net/education_in/pdf/curr_framework-yug-kos-enl-t06.pdf

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project in Afghanistan. However, since the administrative preparations for my mission to

Kabul took quite a long time, I found myself working first with the Afghan Ministry of
Education and Ministry of Higher Education in Tehran (Iran), in the context of a two-week
intensive training workshop (September–October 2002) that UNESCO’s International
Bureau of Education (IBE) had organized with the support of the UNESCO Afghanistan
Office and the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO for more than 40 Afghan
education specialists.
The IBE team (Sobhi Tawil, IBE Programme co-ordinator; Hugo Labate, science
education specialist and international curriculum consultant from Argentina; Farideh
Machayekh Bazarghan, Iranian Educational Association; and myself) aimed to assist the
Afghan colleagues in undertaking a first systematic assessment of their present curriculum,
based on a SWOT analysis (S: Strengths; W: Weaknesses; O: Opportunities; T: Threats),
as well as to identify the main needs to be addressed by a revamped curriculum for primary
and secondary education. Subsequently, current ‘‘trends’’ in international curriculum
development were discussed, based on an analysis of different cases of curriculum pro-
cesses and products. Given the complexity of the matter and the dynamic of curriculum
changes, it is always difficult to talk about ‘‘trends’’ in a clear-cut manner (some would
even doubt that one can or even should identify trends), but nevertheless, such ‘‘trends’’
can be identified from different sources, such as through the analysis of the current dis-
course on curriculum change (Rosenmund 2006, see also Hewitt 2006, especially Part.
IV.14: Interpreting Trends in Curriculum).
The conceptual and methodological aspects pertaining to curriculum design, writing
and implementation were then systematized and consolidated in the context of hands-on
activities devoted to the revision of a draft curriculum framework that the Afghan
Compilation and Translation Department had developed in Kabul before heading for
Tehran.
‘‘Curriculum framework’’ may refer to the overall curriculum construction (curriculum
system) of a country (i.e. broad guidance covering all educational stages and grades)—
which was the case with the new curriculum framework for Afghanistan; to specific
educational stages (i.e. primary education) or to specific learning areas and subjects (i.e.
science education framework). In any form, they tend to be unifying documents with a
strong regulatory function. Given their foundational character, ‘‘frameworks’’ may be
equated with ‘‘constitutions’’ of the education system.
Most of the participants in the Tehran workshop were experienced educators aged 50
or more, but several younger colleagues—as well as women—were also part of the
group. However, although some of them held masters and even doctoral degrees earned
in the late 1960s or 1970s from the United States, over the war period, and especially
during the Taliban regime, the vast majority of the participants had lost all contact with
international developments in education. In addition, only a few of them spoke any
English, thus translation into Dari and Pashto was crucial for the smooth running of the
workshop. Luckily, we benefited from the services of several wonderful professional
interpreters—probably the best team I ever met—with excellent language skills and also
with a very good understanding of highly complex educational and curriculum
terminology.
The results of the SWOT analysis pointed to both strong elements of the Afghan
curriculum, as well as some shortcomings that needed to be addressed in a timely and
efficient manner, as shown in Table 2.
Needless to say, such an analysis provided a rather ‘‘impressionistic’’ view of both
strengths and weaknesses of the existing curriculum in Afghanistan and thus offered little

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Table 2 Outcomes of a SWOT analysis of the existing Afghan curriculum

Strengths Weaknesses

• The curriculum of regular schools • There is no ‘‘national curriculum system’’

is quite well balanced since it
includes both ‘‘secular’’ subjects
and religious education subjects
• Heavy emphasis is placed on
science education
• ‘‘Scope and sequence’’ were
somehow provided for all subjects
and grades based on curriculum
development experiences of the
1960s and 1970s
• In the 1960s and 1970s some good
grounds had been laid for
curriculum development
• The curriculum is prescribed only through
textbooks of mediocre quality and relevance
• There is little capacity to develop quality
curriculum frameworks, syllabuses and textbooks
• There are many sensitive areas surrounding the
curriculum (i.e. girls’ education; balance between
religious and secular perspectives)
• The present curriculum does not address life-
relevant competencies
• There is no choice among a wide range of teaching
and learning strategies fostering learner
centredness. The main emphasis is placed on rote
learning of content and fact-laden subject matter
• Assessment is not relevant nor reliable
• Education (and the curriculum) has not been
updated with international and national
developments for quite some time (including the
labour market and the world of work)

Opportunities Threats

• New prospects of stability in the country
• Parents and students trust education and
are eager to benefit from good education
• Support of the international community
after the 2001–2002 war
• Possibility to align education with
developments in other societal sectors
• Capacity development prospects
• Huge needs in terms of materials and human
resources (i.e. lack of educational infrastructure;
lack of qualified teachers; lack of quality and
affordable learning materials)
• Prospects of political instability and slow
economic recovery
• Difficulty to reach consensus on sensitive
educational issues
• Fundamentalist attitudes and the threat of
terrorism

opportunity to examine relevant details and examples. It did nevertheless have the
advantage of involving the participants in some systematic exercises of curriculum
assessment based on sharing and communicating ideas corresponding to criteria deemed
typical of a quality curriculum. As a collective discussion and sharing of curriculum
matters, it represented a new working procedure for our Afghan colleagues, which they
later applied in different situations.
Extended discussions based on some international experiences led to conceptual
approaches aimed at clarifying curriculum terminology, and the links between curriculum
theories, terminology and practices. Examples were taken from curriculum development
and implementation processes in post-communist transition countries in Eastern Europe
(Hungary, Romania and Slovenia); post-conflict societies (Kosovo); developing countries
in Latin America and the Middle East; developed countries (Nordic States, Switzerland,
the United Kingdom, the United States; and South-East Asian nations). Despite differ-
ences between countries owing to specific contexts, priorities and approaches, learning
from one another is always instructive and rewarding because commonalities can be
identified ‘‘in the curriculum-related findings and discourses’’ (Benavot and Truong 2006,
p. 10).

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Primary and secondary curriculum development in Afghanistan 433

For instance, the participants had a chance to compare their own vision of the future of
education and curriculum in Afghanistan with noticeable ‘‘trends’’ at the international
level, such as:
• New ways of emphasizing the construction of outcome-based curricula. Today
‘‘learning outcomes’’ are usually understood as student competencies: ‘‘Competencies
are defined as sustainable acquisitions and abilities to think, act, learn, transfer
knowledge and look for solutions independently’’ and responsibly in a rapidly changing
world (Georgescu 2006, p. 89). Thus, outcome-based curricula tend to shift the focus
from the content and methods of teaching and learning (even though they are seen as
necessary inputs) to processes and outcomes of learning that can be demonstrated
(made ‘‘visible’’), not only in the context of formal examinations but in life-relevant
situations.
• New possibilities to structure the curriculum in order to cater more for learner needs,
thus avoiding excessive content- and subject-based fragmentation of the curriculum.
• New possibilities of allocating time in order to allow for more classroom interaction
and learner-centred pedagogies.
The participants stressed that, given the specific situation of Afghanistan, there was a need
to provide a unified, centralized curriculum as a tool for renewed nation building. Thus
curriculum decentralization to the provinces, communities and schools—which had
recently been pursued as a major trend in many countries—could not be envisaged for the
time being. While acknowledging different advantages of curriculum decentralization in
the long run (i.e. linking the curriculum more to specific conditions and needs, involving
the local community), the Afghan group deemed that, for the time being, it would be
preferable to re-establish a unified curriculum system across the country that would cater
for both access and quality concurrently. The participants also expressed their willingness
to develop a modern curriculum that would support an effective and pro-active insertion of
young people into the realities of the twenty-first century, whereas local traditions should
be well balanced with international trends and developments. They also stressed the
willingness of the Afghan Transitional Government to cater for the development of chil-
dren and young people as knowledgeable, moral and responsible persons and ‘‘moderate
Muslims’’.
An important part of the workshop was devoted to the revision and improvement of the
draft concerning the Curriculum Framework for General Primary and Secondary Educa-
tion. A Core Team put forward an overall structure of the curriculum framework and also
prepared detailed outlines for several of its anticipated chapters, such as the chapter on
‘‘Aims and Objectives of Education in Afghanistan’’ and ‘‘The Plan of Study’’ (i.e. learning
areas and subjects for different educational stages and grades). Although it represented a
very first draft, the international IBE team already suggested several changes, such as:
• Be explicit about the rationale for changing and improving the curriculum given the
new situation in post-war Afghanistan and the new realities of today’s (and
tomorrow’s) world;
• Try to define not just aims and objectives, but also learning outcomes in terms of
student achievements (competencies), i.e. knowledge, skills and attitudes that learners
can mobilize independently and employ in life-relevant situations, not just in the
context of formal examinations;
• Define the content of learning in a more complex way, by considering articulations
between factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge, as well as between knowledge,

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values, skills and attitudes. Knowledge comprises more than factual information, which
up to that time in Afghanistan used to be the cornerstone of ‘‘learning’’, reduced to rote
memorization:

Long-term memory is comprised of declarative and non-declarative (i.e. procedural)

aspects. Declarative memory can be episodic [straight memorization of information
bits and facts] or semantic [memorization through associating factual information
with (personal) meaning]. In the case of semantic memory we associate meaning
with stimuli to be remembered. This in turn guarantees better learning and stable
acquisition of knowledge in the long run. Procedural memory (part of the non-
declarative memory and less conscious in nature), is based on the internationalization
of operations and procedures that become ‘automatic’/unconscious patterns of our
actions to multiple stimuli (Georgescu 2006, p. 93).

• Address issues of selecting and organizing the learning content in meaningful ways by
making the best use of the students’ time in school and putting an emphasis on their
active role in learning;
• Address new emerging learning needs, either as new curriculum areas/subjects or as
cross-cutting approaches, i.e. life skills; citizenship education; information and
communication technologies (ICTs); values and moral education; environmental
education; gender equality and gender issues in education;
• Consider introducing guidance with regard to learner-centred teaching and learning
strategies (i.e. addressing different learning styles), as well as relevant and reliable
methods of assessment that take into account and also encourage the students’ progress
and overcoming their learning difficulties.

The first Kabul workshop

By the end of the Tehran workshop, the Afghan participants were determined to return
home and resume work on the new draft curriculum framework, while initiating public
consultations with a range of stakeholders in regard to the scope, content and pace of the
planned curriculum reform. They now insisted that UNICEF should send me to Kabul as
soon as possible in order to help them advance with a first comprehensive draft of the new
curriculum framework, which they planned to present and share publicly in the context of a
workshop that the Ministry of Education agreed to organize in co-operation with UNICEF
and USAID at the end of December 2002.
I consequently spent two months on the ground in Kabul (October–December 2002),
working with the Curriculum Core Team (CCT)4 and other colleagues on the new draft of
the Curriculum Framework. Thereafter, the Ministry of Education presented it to more than
200 stakeholders, representing formal and non-formal education, political parties, religious
authorities, educational NGOs and international agencies. The December 2002 workshop,
supported by UNICEF and USAIDS, and implemented by Creative Associates Interna-
tional, aimed at facilitating a broad sharing of the draft with regard to directions and
priorities of curriculum change, thus becoming a validation forum for the new curriculum

4
The CCT consisted of ten members headed by Abdul Nabi Wahidi, the President of the ‘‘Compilation and
Translation Department’’, who were mandated by the Minister of Education to finalize a first draft of the
Curriculum Framework for public discussions.

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reforms that the Ministry of Education wanted to embark on. Key topics for discussion
included:
• Educational approaches presented in the new curriculum framework.
• Chapters 1–10 of the new curriculum framework: I. Introduction (A: Historical
Background of Education in Afghanistan; and B: Situation Analysis of Education in
Afghanistan: Needs and Future Prospects); II. Education Policy; III. General Objectives
of Education in Afghanistan according to Education Domains; IV. Structure of the
Education System and Education Objectives of Each Cycle; V. Literacy Programmes;
VI. Plan of Study; VII. Syllabuses; VIII. Learning and Teaching Strategies; IX.
Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Outcomes; X. Counselling and Guidance
(Afghanistan. Ministry of Education 2002, p. 3).
• Potential strategies and mechanisms that can be applied in the next steps of curriculum
development and implementation.
• Recommendations for the next steps in the curriculum development and implemen-
tation process (United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 2003,
p. 2).
As stated in the workshop report, the new curriculum framework ‘‘addresses a healthy
array of pertinent policy and implementation issues [such as] student-centred learning,
lifelong learning, life-skills development, integrated learning, integrated and spiral cur-
riculum, participatory processes, gender equity’’ (United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) 2003, p. 15). However, the report draws attention to the crucial task
of ensuring that such concepts are well understood and effectively translated into curric-
ulum processes and products:
One of the primary challenges to overcome is the initial lack of understanding of
the breadth and depth of these concepts and how to operationalize concepts
through practical application of the curriculum. These concepts must not only be
understood but internalized by those implementing the new curriculum if they are
to fulfil their roles in the development and diffusion of the curriculum, which will
result in the subsequent adoption of this curriculum by other educational practi-
tioners (ibid.).
Given especially the short time at their disposal and the harsh conditions under which
they were working, the Curriculum Core Team performed a wonderful job, of which I
was very proud. For instance, during the winter of 2002/2003 rooms in the Ministry of
Education were overcrowded almost all the time, and some of them had no windows.
Meals and urban transportation were not yet offered to the ministry staff (which
commenced in 2005/2006) and electricity was usually intermittent. Members of the
Core Team used to carry out their ‘‘homework’’ by candlelight and needed more than
two to three hours per day to travel between home and office. There was only one
computer available, and only one person knew how to handle both Dari and Pashto
scripts.
My role was to make them aware of current international cases, clarify concepts and
methodologies and help them refine and articulate their own ideas in writing. But it was
their ideas that I helped bring to life, and it was their informed decisions, based on hours
and days of (sometimes heated) deliberation. Luckily, we benefited from the excellent
interpretation services of Nazar Mohd Karyar, who was also instrumental in editing texts in
Dari and Pashto.

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Finalizing the curriculum framework

After a short break, in February 2003, I resumed work in Kabul on behalf of the IBE,5 and
continued to assist the CCT throughout the year. From February until June 2003 the CCT
continued refining the new draft curriculum framework in line with the feedback received
in the context of the December 2002 workshop. We also held on-the-job training to
enhance the capacities of subject specialists in view of the forthcoming development of
new syllabuses and textbooks for primary education. Critical questions, both technical and
policy-related, were tackled, including: why syllabuses are needed; what their role is in
relationship to the curriculum framework and textbooks; whether textbooks should be
written as original texts or adapted (i.e. compiled) from other countries; which subjects are
more in need of new quality textbooks and, if textbooks were to be adapted from other
countries, how to assure horizontal and vertical consistency in the curriculum.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education established a High Commission formed of
ministry officials, university professors, politicians, and representatives of NGOs and
international agencies, tasked with revising the draft curriculum framework, suggesting
improvements and validating a final version of the framework, to be endorsed by the
Minister of Education. Weekly meetings took place between the High Commission and the
CCT members.
By the end of June the new curriculum framework (Afghanistan. Ministry of Education
2003) was finalized in three languages (Dari, Pashto and English) and approved by the
Transitional Government, thus becoming an official reference document of the Afghan
education system. It was subsequently printed and widely distributed in both Dari and
Pashto, and a shorter, user-friendly version of it was prepared in the context of a workshop
in Kabul in November 2003, which was then printed in Dari, Pashto and English in the first
half of 2004.
The document advances clear principles for developing the curriculum through bal-
ancing tradition and innovation. It is stipulated that the new curriculum should be student-
friendly, updated and relevant for today’s challenges. It should foster lifelong learning and
stimulate access and participation of children and young people from Afghanistan in
primary and secondary education. It also states the basic background value of education in
Afghanistan, specifying that students should be educated in compliance with moderate
Islamic values and spiritual beliefs, as opposed to extremist, fundamentalist attitudes.
Finally, it highlights the role that quality education should play in the journey of the
Afghan people towards welfare and life in a moral, cultivated society.
The main areas of education in Afghanistan are defined as: Spiritual and moral edu-
cation; Intellectual development; Cultural and artistic education; Social and civic
education; Economic education; and Health education (including physical education). The
structure of the education system has been revised in the light of new educational chal-
lenges and principles to foster quality learning outcomes in compliance with learner needs.
Nine years of compulsory education have been introduced, instead of only 6 years before
and during the wars. Clear objectives and learning outcomes of each educational stage

5
The IBE was asked to provide technical assistance to the MoE in the context of Component 1 (‘‘Cur-
riculum and Textbook Development’’) of a newly-launched UNESCO Education Programme for
Afghanistan (‘‘Support for Curriculum Renewal, Textbook Development and Printing Capacity in the
Ministry of Education, Afghanistan’’), supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development (BMZ).

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have been postulated, along with principles for assessment and the evaluation of student
achievements.
Instead of the previous excessively subject-based divisions of the curriculum, the plan
of study for primary and secondary education now comprised eight broad learning areas:
Islamic studies; Languages; Mathematics; Natural Sciences; Social studies; Life skills;
Arts, practical work and technological education; and Physical education.
Comprehensive rationales for each broad learning area have been developed in com-
pliance with the need to foster holistic and active learning. The members of the
Compilation and Translation Department gradually acknowledged the needs for integrating
new learning areas, such as peace education, life-skills, human rights education, mine
awareness, environmental education, gender issues, etc. They also acknowledged the need
for and the possibilities of introducing integrative learning and exploring more effective
possibilities for curriculum integration, such as the case of the natural sciences (i.e. the
design of a new subject ‘‘Man, health and environment’’ in primary education) and social
studies (social studies in primary education, including civic education, or ‘‘life-skills’’ in
the first 3 years of primary education).
While ‘‘curriculum integration’’ is quite controversial, there is also some evidence that
integrating the curriculum, for instance through themes (‘‘thematic integration’’), is ben-
eficial for students because it fosters comprehensive and holistic learning (see, for instance,
Beanne 1997), thus helping learners make better sense of their learning and environment.
‘‘Integrated learning’’ may, though, equally take place in the context of ‘‘discrete’’ subjects
based on highlighting and reinforcing links between them and through appropriate teaching
and learning, and assessment methodologies.
The total number of weekly contact periods for traditional subjects, such as Language—
arts (mother tongue) and Mathematics and Sciences was readjusted with a view to giving
more room in the new curriculum to new learning areas, such as life-skills, technological
education, the arts and health (including physical) education.
While the educational authorities in Afghanistan stressed the need for a common,
centralized curriculum, providing common requirements for all students, they also
accepted that optional courses could be provided as extra-curricular activities in the upper
grades. This represented a first step towards differentiating the curriculum based on local
conditions and students’ needs and interests.
The new curriculum framework draws attention to new concepts of learning and to
learner-centred approaches in the classroom. Traditionally, education in Afghanistan
meant rote learning, i.e. memorization of prefabricated knowledge. New concepts of
learning may include the development of higher-order intellectual skills, along with social,
emotional, motor, etc. capacities. It also highlights the role of a learner-friendly, stimu-
lating learning environment for students’ intellectual, spiritual, emotional, physical and
social development.
The document addresses links between curriculum provisions, teaching and learning
and assessment and evaluation, listing important learning outcomes, in terms of student
competencies, to be considered in all schools in Afghanistan: what competencies are linked
to the ‘‘to know’’/knowledge dimension, what students should be able to do, how they
should develop as persons, what skills and attitudes are important for living and working
together, and what skills, knowledge and attitudes are important for transforming oneself
and one’s society. Based on an analysis of different models of ‘‘categorizing’’ compe-
tencies, we chose the one offered by UNESCO (Delors et al. 1996) and UNICEF. The
Delors Report focuses on four ‘‘pillars of education’’: learning to know, learning to do,

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438 D. Georgescu

learning to be, and learning to live together—to which in 1997 UNICEF added learning to
‘‘transform ourselves and our environment’’.
A special chapter on counselling and guidance was also added, taking into consideration
the need to provide psycho-social support and orientation for students in pre-tertiary
education.
Several additional changes were also introduced in the document, strengthening the idea
of universal values (such as human rights), underlining education principles (such as equal
and fair access to and treatment in schools of students of different ages, ethnic backgrounds
and gender).

The second Kabul workshop: validating the curriculum framework

In July 2003, the Ministry of Education, with the support of UNESCO, IBE, UNICEF and
DANIDA (The Danish International Development Agency), organized a two-week vali-
dation and capacity development workshop in Kabul with more than 120 participants
representing the Ministry of Education and educational NGOs, together with 13 interna-
tional experts from Argentina, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Romania, and the
USA.6 Under the co-ordination of the IBE, interactive plenary presentations and discus-
sions were combined with group activities. Participants explored the main pedagogical
dimensions in the newly finalized Curriculum Framework for Primary and Secondary
Education, and started developing syllabuses for primary education, based on principles
such as learner-centredness and curriculum integration.
A generic model for syllabus development in all curriculum areas has been adopted,
incorporating four main parts (Rationale, aims and objectives; Knowledge, skills, attitudes;
Suggestions for assessment and evaluation; and Suggestions for teaching and learning
strategies). In co-operation with international experts, the participants worked in subject-
based groups and developed more detailed outlines of the syllabuses, which were then
shared with the other groups.
In addition to the exercise in developing syllabuses based on modern pedagogical
methods (such as thematic integration in science education and social sciences; cross-
curriculum approaches; focusing more on developing oral and written communication
skills in language arts, besides memorization and recitation of poetry, which constituted the
predominant content so far in the learning of languages), the groups worked to develop
draft units for textbooks and other teaching aids. Quality criteria were discussed and
illustrated by the international experts, based on analyses of sample textbooks for primary
education from different countries.
As a follow-up to the workshop, the Ministry of Education established a special Task
Force for Curriculum Development in Primary Education, mandated to co-ordinate the
process of syllabus and textbook development for Grades 1–6.
The members of the Compilation and Translation Department, Teacher Training
Department and Literacy Department worked jointly on all phases of the development of
the new curriculum framework and in all preparatory capacity-building activities leading to
the development of new syllabuses and textbooks for primary education. This contributed
significantly to more effective co-ordination among different ministerial entities and
strengthened the Ministry of Education’s leadership of curriculum development in formal

6
Teachers College, Columbia University: Nancy Lesko; Clifford Hill; Gregory Hamilton; Michelle Genor;
Barry Rosen; Jane Monroe; Romania: Dakmara Georgescu; Alexandru Crisan; Bahrain: Adel Hassan Ali;
France: Elisabeth Plé; Argentina: Hugo Labate.

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Primary and secondary curriculum development in Afghanistan 439

education, as well as its partnerships with agents working in non-formal settings. Different
agencies were involved in the development of joint, comprehensive plans of action for
2003 and 2004 and in several public consultations with educational stakeholders, donors
and the educational partners of the Ministry of Education.
Developments in the area of primary and secondary curriculum were also greatly
supported by the work of the Independent High Commission of Education for Afghani-
stan,7 the members of which were mandated by President Karsai and the Transitional
Government to develop a strategic vision for educational revival and development in
Afghanistan. The Commission’s Report asked for consistency between general and
vocational curriculum development, as well as for a meaningful balance between tradition
and innovation, and between local and international aspects:
The general education curriculum should reflect national history and culture, values,
and traditions. It should also be based on international scientific principles, norms
and standards. The teaching of science and technology is essential for modern
education, and for a better quality of life and economic development. The content
and methods of formal education should be adapted to the needs of children and their
environment. […] They should be developed in co-operation with communities,
enterprises, businesses and industry (Independent High Commission of Education for
Afghanistan (IHCEA) 2003, p. 11).

Implementation … or not

By the end of 2003 the Afghanistan Ministry of Education had succeeded in creating a
momentum for curriculum development in general education8 that looked extremely
promising. Unfortunately, in 2004 and 2005, notwithstanding progress made in the area of
textbook development for primary education with the support of UNICEF and the Teachers
College, Columbia University, curriculum development came to a standstill. The Curric-
ulum Framework was not disseminated to the provinces, and even in Kabul only a few
schools knew about it. Different international agencies and educational NGOs would learn
about its existence, and several used it as a reference document, especially for teacher
education and training (TET).
However, no major public dissemination occurred, nor did any timely and gradual
syllabus development follow, in contrast to what had been decided in 2003. The ‘‘syllabus
development’’ component of systematic curriculum processes was still viewed as non-
essential, since the table of contents in textbooks could still somehow orient teachers with
regard to how to organize learning for students. It was also considered too much of a time-
consuming, technical issue, one that was not very visible to the wider public, whereas
textbooks—no matter how poor they were—could be presented instantly as visible
achievements.
Although a new Programme for Afghanistan (‘‘Reconstruction of the Education System
of Afghanistan’’) was launched in 2004 based on a US$3.5 million contribution by the
United States to UNESCO to reconstruct education in post-conflict societies, its effective

7
The Independent High Commission of Education for Afghanistan was established in November 2002 and
functioned with the support of UNESCO.
8
While members of the Vocational Education Department regularly attended activities devoted to cur-
riculum development for general education, no significant progress was made in this area from 2003 to 2006.
A curriculum framework for vocational education and training was developed in 2007 that follows the main
principles embedded in the general education curriculum frameworks.

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440 D. Georgescu

implementation started only in 2006, for a variety of different factors, including the long
negotiations about the programme’s scope and outcomes. This was the time when the IBE
resumed its assistance to the Ministry of Education with a new approach to secondary
education.

A revised curriculum framework for secondary education (2006)

At the invitation of the Ministry of Education, in 2006 I returned to Kabul, along with two
international consultants, Omar Humus (Palestine) and Khalil Elaian (Jordan). Developing
a new Curriculum Framework for Secondary Education (Grades 7–12) had become an
imperative, as the previous framework developed in 2003 had so far only been imple-
mented in Grades 1–6. New challenges had to be considered that would lead to
reconsideration of the foundations of secondary education in Afghanistan.
While primary education curriculum development was rather well supported by dif-
ferent donors and stakeholders, secondary education did not experience significant changes
after the 2001–2002 war. Given that new primary education textbooks were now more or
less ready for adoption, including in Grades 5 and 6 (final cycle of primary education), it
was imperative to tackle secondary curriculum development in a timely manner and in
compliance with changes introduced in primary education.
In order to develop a revised secondary education curriculum framework, a two-week
workshop with more than 70 participants was convened in August and September 2006.
Four groups worked to articulate different chapters of the curriculum framework
addressing structural and content issues of secondary schooling in Afghanistan:
Group A: The scope of secondary education and its place within the Afghan education
system; general education aims; secondary structures; principles of developing the
secondary curriculum;
Group B: Learning objectives; curriculum areas and timetables;
Group C: Learning outcomes and assessment;
Group D: Learning methodology; and implementation of the new curriculum.
Participants were provided with relevant curriculum materials from countries such as
Australia; China, Egypt, Iran, India, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine, Romania, the
USA and the Gulf countries. The materials (samples of curriculum frameworks, descrip-
tions of secondary systems and timetables/curriculum areas) were introduced to
participants based on inputs from international colleagues.
While consensus could be reached in respect of many directions for change and
improvement, such as providing equal opportunities for all students based on learner-
centred approaches and meaningful learning, participants debated extensively on several
aspects, such as the status of upper secondary streams and tracks. Notwithstanding the fact
that tracking in upper secondary education (i.e. sciences and social sciences) may con-
stitute a fair solution to address the students’ talents and interests for future careers, many
participants considered that, given the present situation in the country, Afghanistan was not
yet ready to implement tracking. Discussions highlighted ‘‘pros’’ and ‘‘cons’’ in regard to
tracking and put forward different solutions for paving the way to tracking in the future.
The Ministry of Education was called upon to take a decision in regard to tracking based on
an informed consideration of all aspects and consequences implied by tracking.
The issue of ‘‘curriculum integration’’ (i.e. ‘‘curriculum combination’’) also triggered
intense discussions. The participants in the workshop gauged that it would be preferable to

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Primary and secondary curriculum development in Afghanistan 441

use the concept of ‘‘curriculum combination’’ instead of ‘‘curriculum integration’’, because

they feared ‘‘integration’’ was too strong a term, while teachers and textbook authors (and
even curriculum developers) would not yet be ready to deal with it.
The possibility of ‘‘combining’’ subjects, especially in lower secondary education, were
explored, such as in the case of creating new subjects: ‘‘Sciences’’ (physics, chemistry,
biology) and ‘‘Social studies’’ (history, geography and civic education). While ‘‘combined
subjects’’ could provide better grounds for integrative and holistic learning (and less of a
burden for the students) and could also represent an attractive solution from an economic
point of view (fewer textbooks to be printed and better usage of teachers), many partici-
pants expressed their concerns in regard to implementation. Afghan teachers are usually
trained to teach only one subject and most teachers (even in secondary education) have
only a secondary degree. Many participants thought that, despite potential pedagogical
gains for students, ‘‘the combination of subjects’’ would represent an overwhelming
challenge to teachers.
Nevertheless, the Ministry of Education encouraged the participants to consider ‘‘the
combination of subjects’’ when developing the new framework, taking into account the
reforms TET would equally undergo in Afghanistan.
The participants also developed a suitable template for syllabuses containing three main
parts:
1. General information about the learning area/subject (including rationale for the
subject, learning objectives and conceptual mapping of the subject);
2. Content and learning outcomes (‘‘scope and sequence’’) for different grades (strands/
topics, outcomes, activities and methods of assessment);
3. Other information, such as student homework.
Based on previous work by the personnel of the Curriculum and Textbook Directorate
(CTD) (formerly the ‘‘Compilation and Translation Department’’) on drafting syllabuses
for secondary education and also on international examples introduced by the IBE, dif-
ferent subject groups then worked on preparing sample syllabuses for lower secondary
(Grade 7, or 7–9). The samples were discussed in plenary session and the following
recommendations were made concerning possibilities to improve the content and format of
syllabuses:
• While subject teams have worked separately during the present workshop, it is
necessary that in the future subject teams belonging to a ‘‘combined’’ subject in
secondary education (especially lower secondary) work together and observe common
learning objectives and outcomes of that respective area.
• Syllabuses should indicate to teachers and textbook authors why, what and how
students should learn. In order to do so, syllabuses ought to provide a meaningful
selection and organization of content, and carefully state the main learning objectives
and outcomes of the subject. They should be neither too detailed nor too vague.
• The formulation of content selection and learning outcomes should appropriately
reflect the competencies one intends to develop in students. Higher-order intellectual
skills and competencies should be emphasized, along with social, emotional, motor,
spiritual and other competencies.
• Curriculum developers will have to improve their writing skills in order to be able to
use appropriate wording. They have to collaborate with other subject groups in order to
ensure co-ordination and coherence in syllabus development, as well as possibilities to
reinforce integrated and holistic learning.

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442 D. Georgescu

According to the participants’ evaluation of the workshop, they considered the syllabus
template useful and stated that they would continue to improve their draft syllabuses based
on consultations with subject specialists and other stakeholders.
As outcomes of the intense two-week work the participants produced:
• A draft Curriculum Framework for Secondary Education, including scenarios for upper
secondary education (tracking of general education and, respectively, preservation of a
general academic track as was the case in Afghanistan until 2006);
• Syllabus models for secondary education that are based on a common, flexible template
for all subjects;
• Processes (i.e. working habits and routines) that should serve as a basis for future work
in order to support the advancement of curriculum and textbook development for lower
and upper secondary;
• Recommendations to the Ministry of Education identifying issues that need informed
policy decisions, such as the issues of tracking; combination of subjects; the dynamics
of implementing the new secondary curriculum; challenges to be addressed and
possible strategies to overcome them.
Based on discussions with the Ministry of Education (Minister Hanneef Atmar and
advisors; Steering Committee of the MoE and UNESCO Programme ‘‘Reconstruction of
the Afghanistan Education System’’; leadership of the Curriculum and Textbook Direc-
torate/CTD), the following directions for follow up were envisaged:
• The Ministry of Education ought to constitute a consultative body that should prepare
informed decision-making with regard to several important educational policy issues,
such as tracking in upper secondary, curriculum areas and timetables and implemen-
tation schedule and strategies. It was anticipated that decisions needed for the
completion of the framework should be taken by the end of October 2006.
• After the workshop the participants would continue working co-operatively and in a co-
ordinated manner in order to further improve the draft syllabuses for lower and upper
secondary. In November 2006, 25 of them would travel to Amman where, over
1 month, they would refine and finalize the syllabuses based on exchanges with
international colleagues.
• In December 2006 the team would return to Kabul and report to the Minister.
Syllabuses had to be discussed with stakeholders for feedback and fine-tuning, and
prepared for publication and dissemination in January and February 2007.
• In 2007 textbook development for secondary education would start, based on capacity-
building and professional approaches, such as the development of guidelines for
authors and training of selected authors to convert new syllabuses into textbooks
appropriately.

Syllabuses for secondary learning areas (2006)

In compliance with previous agreements between the Ministry of Education, the UNESCO
Office in Afghanistan and the UNESCO IBE, 40 education specialists from Afghanistan
gathered in Amman for a full month, in order to develop new syllabuses for upper and
lower secondary education (Grades 7–12). The Amman workshop was organized jointly by
the Afghan Ministry of Education (MoE), the UNESCO Office in Afghanistan and the IBE
in the context of the UNESCO and MoE Programme ‘‘Reconstruction of the Afghanistan

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Primary and secondary curriculum development in Afghanistan 443

Education System’’. It was designed as a follow up activity to the Kabul workshop

(August–September 2006), during which a new draft secondary curriculum framework and
syllabus templates were issued.
Participants from Afghanistan and international consultants of the IBE’s technical
assistance team9 made a tremendous effort to finalize the syllabuses for seven secondary
learning areas over a period of just one month (Grades 7–12): Islamic education; Lan-
guages; Math; Sciences; Social studies; Arts and culture; Technology/ICTs. The new
syllabuses bring about significant quality changes in all learning areas and subjects,
amongst which are the following:
• Up-to-date/new learning content and methods, and modernized teaching and learning
approaches (especially in mathematics and sciences; Islamic education; languages),
such as: articulating and balancing better oral and written communication skills,
literature, and moral education within language arts; introducing current approaches in
science education, such as inquiry-based and hands-on learning; integrating citizenship
and entrepreneurial education aspects; focusing on cross-cutting elements throughout
the curriculum.
• A combination of subjects in lower secondary education (e.g. Sciences and Social
studies).
• New subjects dealing with the concept of multi-layered identities and learning to live
together—LTLT (such as Afghanistan’s traditions and cultures/Grades 10–12; ICT/
Grades 10–12; Civic education/Grades 7–12; optional subjects/Grades 10–12).
• Differentiated learning according to specific tracks (for subjects such as sciences, math
and social studies two different syllabuses were developed in compliance with
differentiated educational goals in science and social studies tracks).
• Cross-cutting approaches, such as emphasis on communication, connections with real
life, problem-solving; development of constructive attitudes, such as tolerance and co-
operation.
• Focus on learning outcomes in all learning areas and subjects and alignment of learning
objectives, content, outcomes and teaching and learning strategies, including assess-
ment techniques.
All syllabuses were developed on the basis of a common template, which contained the
following elements:
• An introduction by the Minister of Education;
• A rationale for the presence of a certain learning area/subject in the curriculum;
• Learning aims and objectives (per education cycles and/or grades);
• Scope and sequence (organizing the content of learning: strands, topics and sub-topics;
learning outcomes: knowledge and skills);
• Attitudes;
• Annex 1: Examples of teaching and learning strategies;
• Annex 2: Examples of assessment techniques.
The development of draft syllabuses for seven secondary learning areas and subjects in only
one month, based on common templates reflecting a shared understanding of their ‘‘curric-
ulum construction’’, was perceived by both insiders and outsiders of the process as a miracle.

9
Klalil Elaian and 16 Jordanian consultants for different subjects recruited by Al Obeikan Research and
Development, university professors and curriculum specialists of the Jordanian Ministry of Education;
Sandra Stotksy and Anne Yates, USA; Philip Stabback, Australia; and the present author.

123
444 D. Georgescu

However, the draft syllabuses needed further refinement, based on broad public and pro-
fessional consultations, before being published and widely disseminated. While the Ministry
of Education was keen to embark on secondary textbook production, it would be com-
mendable if finalizing the secondary syllabuses appropriately were not dismissed because of
the urge to develop new textbooks and other learning materials as soon as possible.

Conclusions and future challenges

The case of the primary and secondary curriculum development in Afghanistan poses a
very fundamental question: if a country’s education system (almost) collapsed, and there
were huge needs to be met in terms of both human and material resources, what would be
the chances that large-scale educational reforms (including curriculum changes) would be
sustainable to the same extent to which they have been designed and implemented?
The Ministry of Education of Afghanistan succeeded, in a quite short time, in bringing
forward important educational issues that are considered crucial to the reconstruction of the
country’s society, considered broadly. It is now clear to political parties, as well as to wider
public opinion, that societal reconstruction in Afghanistan will not be possible without
substantial improvements to education, and that, given its central place and connections
with other education sub-systems, the curriculum plays the role of an engine of the edu-
cation system.
Despite inherent failures and standstills, over the period 2002–2006 Afghanistan
became a conflict-affected country that had achieved notable achievements in education,
curriculum planning and design:
• A new Curriculum Framework for Primary and Secondary Education was released in
2003, as a founding document for a reconstructed education and curriculum system in
Afghanistan. While developing the curriculum framework, the Ministry of Education
had also to deal with other important policy issues, such as the definition of the
educational structure and the expansion of basic education to 9 years, while
incorporating lower secondary education as a compulsory, free-of-charge cycle; the
introduction of special measures for the education of minority groups—i.e. the
possibility for them to study their respective mother tongues, alongside Dari and
Pashto; the beginning of English and Science courses in the second cycle of primary
education (Grades 4–6) instead of lower secondary, as had been the case before.
• New textbooks for primary education were developed for Grades 1–6, based on the
newly developed curriculum framework, and extensive teacher training was provided
to assist their implementation in specific learning areas, especially new areas such as
‘‘Life skills’’ or the ‘‘integrated’’ ‘‘Man, health and environment’’ course.
• In 2006, a revised Curriculum Framework for Secondary Education was prepared,
along with draft syllabuses for all seven secondary learning areas, as a basis for
secondary textbook development.
• Also in 2006, a 5-year National Education Strategic Plan for Afghanistan was endorsed
by the government, setting out a clear picture of the changes needed in different areas
of the education system, as well as their articulation in terms of providing consistency
and sustainability of education reforms. The plan is structured according to eight
programmes: 1. General education; 2. Teacher education; 3. Working conditions; 4.
Curriculum development and learning materials; 5. Islamic education; 6. Technical and
vocational education and training; 7. Literacy and non-formal education; 8. Educational

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Primary and secondary curriculum development in Afghanistan 445

administration reform and development. The main targets of Programme 4: Curriculum

development and learning materials, are: to develop a new curriculum and textbooks
for secondary education; establish a National Institute of Curriculum Development
incorporating a National Standards Board for defining and evaluating teaching and
learning standards and accreditation; ensure all schoolchildren have a complete set of
new curriculum textbooks; develop and implement a nationally-administered annual
testing for assessment of learning achievements for primary and secondary students;
strengthen institutional and staff capacities in curriculum development (Afghanistan.
Ministry of Education 2007, p. 17).
One may wonder how this was achieved; one may even doubt the quality of the curriculum
processes and products: if it is sometimes hard to find such a structured curriculum system
in developed countries, how was it possible to put it in place in problem-plagued
Afghanistan?
The explanation, while not simple, lies first of all in the strong political will of the
Afghan authorities to redesign their education in compliance with new challenges and
opportunities. Secondly, it also lies in rather fruitful co-operation between national and
international partners, and the willingness of the Afghan decision-makers and curriculum
specialists to examine international cases, to learn from others, to be open about their
weaknesses and build on their strengths. Thirdly, it lies in the hard work of many com-
mitted people who, step-by-step, became part of a productive community of curriculum
developers, able to work together towards a common goal, to disagree civilly, to respect
deadlines and to be open to constructive criticism.
The process of developing the new curriculum frameworks, syllabuses and textbooks
was not always smooth, and many tough questions and dilemmas still require clear-cut
answers (i.e. whether high-school students would be better off in single- or multiple-track
systems; whether evolutionism and modern genetics ought to be taught in high schools as
foundations of modern biology; whether more international history should be taught in
high schools, while also focusing on important moments that shaped modern democracies
and the human rights movement; whether language-arts courses should develop skills with
regard to different types of writing, e.g. more national and international modern literature
alongside the traditional poetry samples essentially found in textbooks). Such questions
and dilemmas are not easy to address, not even in stable, more developed societies,
let alone those striving for national reconciliation while searching for a meaningful balance
between their past and a more promising future—such as Afghanistan.
Perhaps the most striking feature of the Afghanistan curriculum process lies in the
determination of educational authorities to go ahead in parallel with both: (a) emergency
actions10 to re-establish the functioning of the education system; and (b) a large-scale
educational reform, the implications of which none of its actors may have even fully
grasped from its very inception. Afghanistan clearly demonstrates that one can embark on
large-scale educational reforms, even in conflict-affected and poor societies. Personally, I
think that this would in any case be preferable to opting for circumstantial, piecemeal
reforms, regardless of how tempting the latter might appear in the short term.

10
According to Margaret Sinclair, ‘‘for UNESCO, an educational emergency is a crisis situation created by
conflicts or disasters which have destabilized, disorganized or destroyed the education system, and which
require an integrated process of crisis and post-crisis support. […] This matches the Dakar approach.
UNICEF has used the term ‘emergency’ in an even broader sense to include natural disasters, such as floods
and earthquakes, and human-made crisis such as civil strife and war, as well as ‘silent emergencies’, such as
HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty and children living on the streets’’ (Sinclair 2002, pp. 22–23).

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446 D. Georgescu

Despite its many achievements at policy and curriculum design level, Afghanistan still
has a long way to go until the new educational principles and concepts are translated into
daily classroom practices. Among the challenges that the Afghanistan educators will have
to cope with, the following are probably the most notable:
• Notwithstanding a growing community of professional curriculum developers in the
country, Afghanistan is still far from disposing of a critical mass of qualified
curriculum professionals. Implementing a new curriculum culture on a large scale will
thus take much more effort and time. To date, new curriculum processes and products
are confined more to the people working in the Presidency for Curriculum and
Textbooks (the former ‘‘Compilation and Translation Department’’), while other
departments of the Ministry of Education are not always well informed about what their
curriculum colleagues are actually producing.
• ‘‘Institutionalizing’’ curriculum development through the creation of a functional
Curriculum Institute would be a great asset, enhancing the overall quality of curriculum
processes and products, as well as involving stakeholders, seeking public support, and
preparing conditions for sustainable implementation.
• While attempts to reform the assessment system of Afghanistan were made on several
occasions, assessment and evaluation remain one of the marginalized education sub-
sectors. The new curriculum framework suggests new paradigms for assessing student
achievement, while supporting their motivation and learning, but, as long as no
institutional and procedural changes are brought about, assessment will still rely on old-
fashioned, rather unreliable methods.
• Over recent years, the TET component has made significant progress.11 A draft of the
Curriculum Framework for TET was developed that considers learning outcomes stated
by primary and secondary curriculum documents as a basis for developing teachers’
capacities to deal with learner needs. However, much remains to be done with regard to
institutionalizing new patterns of TET that would simultaneously tackle pre- and in-
service systems, as well as content and methodological aspects. Much effort is usually
put into familiarizing teachers with new, interactive methods, but the content aspects of
training should also be considered. Given their isolation from current developments,
many teachers use recitation of pre-fabricated texts as their unique pedagogical
method, and even more gravely, they may not still master the basic content of their
subject matter.12
• Needless to say, the lack of suitable material and human resources represents an
overwhelming challenge. For instance, if, according to the new curriculum, English is
being taught already in primary education (Grades 4–6), qualified human resources are
scarce, for the Ministry of Education is confronted with a chronic lack of specialized
English teachers—even at secondary level. While teachers and students are eager to use
new materials and new pedagogical methods even in tents or in open-air schools, one
can easily imagine that such learning conditions may not cater for sustainable and
quality learning outcomes in the long run. For some, it may even seem eccentric that so
much effort was invested in curriculum processes and products while most of the
students do not learn in appropriate school facilities. However, a parallel approach to

11
TET is strongly supported by USAIDS, DANIDA and other partners. Many educational NGOs are also
actively involved in training teachers to use new teaching and learning methodologies, especially ‘‘under
difficult situations’’.
12
Many teachers in Afghanistan have only a secondary qualification and this is the case even with teachers
teaching in secondary schools.

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Primary and secondary curriculum development in Afghanistan 447

‘‘hard’’ (i.e. inexistent or poor school facilities) and ‘‘soft’’ parts of the education
system (learning content and methods) may in the future prove to have been a good
investment by the Ministry of Education. It would probably be just as detrimental to
use old-fashioned and outdated curricula in new state-of-the-art buildings as it would to
develop sophisticated curricula for children studying in open-air schools.
The Afghan Ministry of Education and other stakeholders are now confronted with the
huge challenges of quality curriculum implementation across the country, as well as the
need to integrate sustainable, effective systems of monitoring and evaluation, which are
almost totally lacking at present. At the same time, there is a need to further refine the
planning and design of its new curriculum, which, despite many achievements, could still
be viewed as a fragile intellectual construct in need of both more solid foundations and
important readjustments in all the specific and detailed elements of its brand new
architecture.

References

Afghanistan. Ministry of Education. (2002). Afghanistan new curriculum framework. Kabul: Compilation
and Translation Department. [Drafts].
Afghanistan. Ministry of Education. (2003). Curriculum framework Afghanistan (Vol. 1). Kabul: Compi-
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448 D. Georgescu

Author Biography

Dakmara Georgescu (Romania) is co-ordinator of the IBE’s Technical Assistance Programme (Curric-
ulum Development). Graduated in 1982 from the University of Bucharest (Philosophy and History School).
She worked as a teacher, researcher and co-ordinator of the Social Studies Committee of the Romanian
National Curriculum Council (1995–1997). From 1997 to 2000 she was advisor to the Minister of Education
co-ordinating the primary and secondary curriculum and textbook reform. Since 2000, she has been the
IBE’s co-ordinator and resource person in Kosovo, the Gulf countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghani-
stan, the Caucasus Region, Mauritius, Sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq. She has published widely on the
philosophy of teaching, curriculum reforms, citizenship and human rights education.

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