In this video, Francesco Rulli, the founder of Film Annex, talks about lack of education in Afghanistan. A country that has been in the grips of war for over 3 decades went from being a progressive country to one completely cut off from the world in terms of both education and development, After Soviet occupation, inter-clan war, the country was taken over by Taliban that banned education for women and promoted only religious education for all. In all the years of war, whatever educational infrastructure was existing has been destroyed. But, after the Taliban was overthrown, the last decade has seen some progress.
It is a recognized fact that economic prosperity can only come about with education for all. And, in a country where the women were long kept away from education and work, that seems to be a step in the right direction. But building educational infrastructure like schools and colleges is time consuming and slow. Afghanis can bridge the gulf of education by having access to tools that promote education primary being internet and online resources. In today’s times, one can have access to wonderful learning resources without even having to venture out of their homes. This was not possible a few decades back. Today, there are online resources and websites like Khan Academy that provide the same education as going to a premier educational institution free of cost. Online education also has tremendous advantages in that higher education and skill-enhancement courses can be done online. This can provide a huge boost in terms of capabilities and employability of the Afghan population leading to economic growth.
Internet connectivity will also enable the Afghanis to exchange views globally. They can also learn foreign languages that can offer them new online avenues for work and also open out information avenues for them. There is very little online educational content in native languages like Farsi and Pashto. This can be changed as more Afghanis get educated and then create resources in their languages that can reach out to many more local people. Francesco believes that giving the right tools will enable better education for children. Tools like good PCs and high-speed internet connectivity.
He also shares his views on the Examer software that can allow every child to log in and take exams online. Also, scholarships in terms of micro payment routed through mobiles is also envisaged and being implemented.
Film Annex is working on the ground in Afghanistan to build internet classrooms. Three such classrooms have already been completed, and work on the others will commence shortly.
To see all my videos and blog posts on Afghanistan, do see my webchannel.
