WFP PLANS TO ASSIST THE AFGHAN PRIMARY SCHOOL AND

UNCLAS ROME 000019

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID EAGR AORC PREF EU WFP UN AFGHANISTAN
SUBJECT: WFP PLANS TO ASSIST THE AFGHAN PRIMARY SCHOOL AND
NON-FORMAL EDUCATION SECTOR - THE NEXT EMERGENCY OPERATION
(EMOP) APPEAL APRIL-DECEMBER 2002

REF: (A) ROME 6582

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SUMMARY
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1. AS A MAJOR COMPONENT OF ITS NEXT EMERGENCY (EMOP)
OPERATION APPEAL (FROM APRIL THROUGH DECEMBER 2002),WFP IS
PLANNING FOOD ASSISTANCE FOR 270,000 PRIMARY SCHOOL
STUDENTS, FOOD AID FOR TRAINING 50,000 TEACHERS, ASSISTANCE
TO 75,000 ENROLLED IN NON-FORMAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES, AND
FOOD-FOR-WORK FOR 80,000 ENGAGED IN EDUCATION-RELATED ASSET
CREATION IN AFGHANISTAN. IN THE MEDIUM-LONG TERM, FOOD FOR
EDUCATION IS INCREASINGLY ENVISIONED AS WFP'S "NICHE" IN
ASSISTING AFGHANISTAN'S DEVELOPMENT. END SUMMARY.
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BACKGROUND
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2. USMISSION HUMANITARIAN ATTACHE AND SENIOR EMERGENCY
COORDINATOR SPOKE ON DECEMBER 28 WITH ARLENE MITCHELL, WFP'S
COORDINATOR FOR THE GLOBAL FOOD FOR EDUCATION INITIATIVE.
SHE RELATED DETAILS OF HER MID-DECEMBER TRIP TO PAKISTAN TO
REVIEW CURRENT AND POTENTIAL WFP INVOLVEMENT IN THE AFGHAN
EDUCATION SECTOR.


3. MITCHELL REFERRED REPEATEDLY TO A COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION
SECTOR ASSESSMENT "EFA 2000 AFGHANISTAN" CONDUCTED BY
UNESCO, IN COOPERATION WITH UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, SAVE THE
CHILDREN (USA) AND THE SWEDISH COMMITTEE FOR AFGHANISTAN,
WHICH PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING "DIRE" END OF DECADE EDUCATION
SCENARIO FOR AFGHNISTAN:


A. THE NUMBER OF SCHOOLS HAS HALVED IN THE PAST TWENTY
YEARS. IN 1990, ALL PROVINCES HAD SCHOOLS; IN 1995, NINE OF
AFGHANISTAN'S TWENTY-NINE PROVINCES HAD NONE. EVEN THOUGH
PRIMARY EDUCATION WAS OFFICIALLY MADE COMPULSORY IN 1964,
"SERIOUS IMPLEMENTATION HAS NOT OCCURRED."


B. GIRL'S EDUCATION HAS BEEN SEVERELY COMPROMISED. IN 1978,
AT THE TIME OF THE SOVIET INVASION, THE GROSS ENROLLMENT
RATE (GER) WAS CALCULATED AT 8 PERCENT FOR GIRLS AND 37
PERCENT FOR BOYS. IN 2000, THE GER STOOD AT 3 PERCENT FOR
GIRLS AND 39 PERCENT FOR BOYS. AT PRESENT, GIRL'S SCHOOLS
REPRESENT ONLY 14.9 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SCHOOLS
IN THE COUNTRY.


C. ESTIMATED DATA AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL (UNICEF, 1998) LIST
APPROXIMATELY 4.4 MILLION CHILDREN OF PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE. OF
THIS, SOME 3.4 MILLION, 2 MILLION GIRLS AND 1.4 MILLION
BOYS, DO NOT ATTEND SCHOOL.


D. IN 1978, THE AFGHAN TEACHING CADRE WAS ESTIMATED AT
30,502. IN 2000, THE NUMBER DROPPED TO 27,230, OF WHOM 10
PERCENT ARE WOMEN. THE PERCENTAGE OF PRIMARY TEACHERS WITH
REQUIRED ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS IS NOW ESTIMATED AT 18.3
PERCENT. PRE-SERVICE TEACHER TRAINING HAS BEEN SEVERELY
REDUCED OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS, AND ADJUDGED ALMOST "NON-
EXISTENT" IN 2000.


F. THE PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENT "SURVIVAL RATE" TO GRADE FIVE
IS 48.8 PERCENT.


G. 69.5 PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE ARE ILLITERATE, WITH THE
PERCENTAGE OF ILLITERACY FOR WOMEN ESTIMATED AT 85 PERCENT.
THIS CONTRASTS WITH SOUTH ASIA AS A WHOLE WHERE TWO-THIRDS
OF THE WOMEN ARE ILLITERATE, COMPARED WITH ABOUT ONE-THIRD
OF THE MEN.


H. PRE-SCHOOLS: AFGHANISTAN HAD AN EARLY CHILDHOOD
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AS FAR BACK AS 1980. 195 DAY-CARE
CENTERS WERE IN EXISTENCE IN 1990. IN 1999, THIS NUMBER HAD
DROPPED TO ONE.


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WFP'S PLANNED SUPPORT TO THE AFGHAN EDUCATION SECTOR FOR
2002 AND BEYOND - WFP'S NEXT EMOP APPEAL (APRIL -DECEMBER
2002)
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4. MITCHELL COMMENTED THAT ALTHOUGH THE CURRENT SITUATION
CALLS FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFORT TO GET CHILDREN AND ADULTS
EDUCATED (ADULTS THROUGH THE NON-FORMAL EDUCATION VENUE),
THE SITUATION WITH THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT AND OTHER
PARTNERS COMBINED WITH THE ON-THE-GROUND DIFFICULTIES OF
WORKING IN AFGHANISTAN - CONSTITUTE FORMIDABLE IMPEDIMENTS
TO ANY MAJOR EFFORT. WFP THEREFORE PROPOSES TO BUILD ON ITS
PAST EXPERIENCE (IN SELECTED DISTRICTS OF BADAKSHAN
PROVINCE) IN A PHASED MANNER NATIONALLY FOR THE PERIOD APRIL
2002-DECEMBER 2002, AS FOLLOWS:


A. FOOD FOR EDUCATION FOR 270,000 STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND
SCHOOL SERVICE WORKERS TO ENCOURAGE ENROLMENT, GOOD
ATTENDANCE, LOWER THE DROP OUT RATE, AND ENHANCE IN-SCHOOL
PERFORMANCE. WHERE NECESSARY, TAKE HOME RATIONS MAY BE
PROVIDED AS AN ECONOMIC INCENTIVE FOR FAMILIES TO SEND
CHILDREN TO SCHOOL. AT THE OUTSET, WFP PLANS TO RESPOND
FLEXIBLY AT URBAN AND RURAL LOCATIONS AND AT BOTH THE
SECONDARY AND PRIMARY LEVELS. (WITHIN TWO-THREE YEARS, THE
EMPHASIS WILL BE INCREASINGLY ON PRIMARY AND RURAL SCHOOLS.)


B. TEACHER TRAINING - WFP WILL PROVIDE FOOD TO SUPPORT THE
TRAINING AND RETRAINING OF UP TO 50,000 FORMER TEACHERS,
TEACHER CANDIDATES, AND CURRENT TEACHERS. MITCHELL SPOKE OF
POSSIBLE UN PROMOTION OF A "TEACHER TRAINING CORPS," DRAWING
ON A CADRE OF TEACHER VOLUNTEERS FROM THE CENTRAL ASIA
REGION OR BEYOND.


C. NON-FORMAL EDUCATION - FOOD AID WILL BE PROVIDED TO UP TO
75,000 YOUTHS AND ADULTS WHO REQUIRE LITERACY AND SKILLS
TRAINING.


D. FOOD-FOR-WORK/FOOD ASSET CREATION - FOOD AID WILL BE
PROVIDED FOR UP TO 80,000 BENEFICIARIES/MONTH. WFP WILL WORK
WITH COMMUNITIES TO BUILD OR REBUILD SCHOOLS AND RELATED
SANITARY FACILITIES, AND TO ESTABLISH INCOME-GENERATING
ACTIVITIES RELATED TO EDUCATION. IN PARTICULAR, WFP PLANS TO
IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY-BASED BREAD BAKERIES TO SUPPLY SCHOOLS
DAILY WITH FORTIFIED BREAD. THIS WOULD GENERATE JOBS,
PARTICULARLY FOR WOMEN, BY PROVIDING A READY "MARKET".

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COMMENT
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5. GIVEN ITS MASSIVE FOOD AID FLOWS IN RESPONSE TO THE
PRESENT CRISIS, WFP IS NATIONALLY THE MOST OPERATIONAL UN
AGENCY IN AFGHANISTAN. WFP HAS PREVIOUS (AND FAVORABLE)
EXPERIENCE IN SCHOOL FEEDING IN BOTH NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN
AND PAKISTAN AND A HEAVY INVOLVEMENT IN THE U.S.-LED GLOBAL
FOOD FOR EDUCATION INITIATIVE (REF A). WFP FEELS THAT ITS
MEDIUM AND LONG-TERM "NICHE" IN AFGHANISTAN OVER THE NEXT
ONE-TWO DECADES WILL BE TIGHTLY LINKED TO FOOD FOR
EDUCATION. CLEARLY THE NEED IS THERE. WHAT IS NOW REQUIRED
IS THE DELICATE TASK OF: (A) OBTAINING THE AGREEMENT OF THE
AFGHAN GOVERNMENT THAT WFP'S APPROACH WILL SUPPORT THEIR
PRIORITIES AND NEEDS; AND (B) "CONCRETIZING" THE COOPERATION
OF WFP'S IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS. THE RELATIVELY SHORT-TERM
(I.E., NINE-MONTH) FOCUS OF THE PROPOSED EMOP SHOULD GIVE
WFP A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO "FURTER TEST THE EDUCATIONAL
WATERS."


6. DUSHANBE MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. HEILEMAN