Canada supports education in Afghanistan

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Transcript

Close-up image of young Afghan girl appears on screen set against a dark background.
According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: Every child has the right to an education, and Article Forty-Three of the Afghan Constitution states: Education is the right of all citizens of Afghanistan.

Afghan male rides his heavily burdened donkey past the remains of an abandoned army tank.
Decades of conflict has meant that going to school was more of a dream than a reality for children who live in Afghanistan.

Group image of Afghan boys and men in the center of a rebuilding project.
With a shortage of schools and teachers, children had little chance of obtaining an education.

Afghan citizen walks through a desolate landscape of crumbling and bombed-out buildings.
For the children who lived in remote areas, these shortages were even more prevalent.

Young Afghan girl pours water from a pot in at the remains of primitively constructed building.
Too often, this lack of education kept children at home. Things are changing in Afghanistan.

Class room full of young Afghan female students.
The Afghan government is committed to rebuilding its education system.

Image of boys and girls together in another busy Afghan classroom.
With support from countries such as Canada, more Afghan children can attend school.

Motion graphics depicts growth of students and schools in Afghanistan.
Consider that in 2001 only 700,000 students attended school, and none of them were girls. Today, there are more than 6 million children in school, one third of them girls. In 2001 as few as 700 schools were open in all of Afghanistan. Ten years later, there are over 10,000 public schools operating in Afghanistan.

Image of afghan girls working in groups in a classroom.
Canada has supported improving the quality of education nationwide…

Afghan teacher at blackboard with two afghan girls
through updated infrastructure, teacher training and alternative schooling.

Afghan teacher working on writing exercises at blackboard with afghan girl.
With more female teachers trained more girls can now attend schools. Today, there are over 150,000 new teachers - approximately one-third of them are female.

Teacher watches on as young Afghan boy reads aloud to class.
In smaller or rural communities where larger schools are not an option, community-based schools have been set up.

Crowded classroom where image of students all seated on floor
As of 2011, these one or two room-schools set up in community spaces, have allowed 120,000 Afghan children, to attend community-based schools...

Close-up of same crowded classroom with girls all seated leaning against wall of classroom.
...especially girls, who live in rural and remote areas and often cannot travel to other communities unaccompanied.

More modern looking classroom with young students wearing uniforms.
These results mean great things for the children of Afghanistan.

Classroom image of Afghan students raising hands to answer teachers question
With the knowledge that education can lift a person out of poverty, improve health, and empower people to be more active citizens, it is encouraging to know that Afghan children are heading off to school in record numbers.

Scrolling panorama of mountains
Looking forward, Canada will continue its focus on education, working to support educational improvements for Afghans, especially women and girls.