Providing access to education through community-based education : a case study of two provinces in Afghanistan

Abstract

Afghanistan has traditionally faced educational decline, despite the country's enormous academic potential. Throughout the history of modern education in the country, the primary areas of underdevelopment have been education quality, access, gender equality in education, school infrastructure, teacher development, national curriculum, and developing a responsive school system. At the same time, plans have been made to improve access to education and meet the needs of everyone. Aside from the general education system, two programs, community-based education and accelerated learning, have been created to help provide access to education in remote regions and to people over the age of enrolling in the public education system. The current study investigated the quality and accessibility of community-based education programs. This study focuses on three main areas: (1) the quality of education for community-based education envisioned by the program's policy, (2) the extent to which the community-based education program is effective in providing access to education in rural and remote areas, and (3) factors that impacted the quality of education in actual community-based education classes after the policy was implemented. This study applied a qualitative research methodology to investigate quality and access in a community-based education program. The primary data collection approach was semi-structured interviews with students, teachers, community leaders, and implementing organizations. Thematic analysis was used to search for repeating patterns in the study data. The study's findings demonstrated that: (1) community-based education policy visioned a high quality of education given the urgency and makeshift arrangement of community-based education program. It was also found that community-based education provided enhanced access to education in rural and remote covering almost every rural and remote community under the community-based education program. (2) Regarding access to education and policy effectiveness, the study found that factors like reduced distance, gender-appropriate classes, and community support increased access to education. On the other hand, factors such as lack of infrastructure, families not allowing children sometimes, and cultural barriers (for girls) hindered access to community-based education programs. Overall, the community-based education program project has been viewed as a successful alternative to education in rural and remote locations. (3) While the policy stated that the community-based education program would provide high-quality education, the classrooms still required adequate attention regarding class facilities and instructors competence. These two factors negatively impacted the quality of community-based education program. Better cooperation and coordination, supervision, and teacher training were identified as factors contributing to quality in community-based education classes. Teacher competence and adequate learning and teaching facilities are two areas the study recommends for improvement in this program. The current research is critical for bridging the gap between communities and government agencies. Similarly, the study informs policymakers about the policy's strengths and weaknesses. This study gives insights into policy change and recommendations from this program's communities to develop further and enrich community-based education. Finally, the study proposed additional empirical research into community-based education programs.