Afghanistan

Afghanistan, in full the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country in South-Central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East. It is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.

Re.ViCa takes the view that Afghanistan is not in the Middle East.

The following material is extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan

Afghanistan has a long history, and has been an ancient focal point of the Silk Road and migration. It is an important geostrategic location, connecting East and West Asia or the Middle East. The land has been a target of various invaders, as well as a source from which local powers invaded neighboring regions to form their own empires.

Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has experienced a continuous state of civil war punctuated by foreign occupations from various regimes of various flavours. In December 2001 the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to help maintain security and assist the Aghan administration. The country is being rebuilt slowly with support from the international community but there are many parts of the country where the government has only limited authority.

The population is just over 28 million.

The capital is Kabul.

Politics in Afghanistan has historically consisted of power struggles, coups and unstable transfers of power. With the exception of a military junta, the country has been governed by nearly every system of government over the past century, including a monarchy, republic, theocracy and communist state. The most recent constitution restructured the government as an Islamic republic consisting of three branches, executive, legislative and judicial.

Corruption is many Afghans' chief grievance against their leaders, pervading nearly all aspects of daily life.

Afghanistan is administratively divided into thirty-four (34) provinces (welayats), and for each province there is a capital. Each province is then divided into many provincial districts, and each district normally covers a city or several townships.

The Governor of the province is appointed by the Ministry of Interior, and the Prefects for the districts of the province will be appointed by the provincial Governor. The Governor is the representative of the central government of Afghanistan, and is responsible for all administrative and formal issues. The provincial Chief of Police is appointed by the Ministry of Interior, who works together with the Governor on law enforcement for all the cities or districts of that province. This theory does not work well in many parts of the country.

There is an exception in the capital city (Kabul) where the Mayor is selected by the President of Afghanistan, and is completely independent from the prefecture of Kabul Province

The population of Afghanistan is divided into a wide variety of ethnic groups. Because a systematic census has not been held in the country in decades, exact figures about the size and composition of the various ethnic groups are not available, and of limited relevance given the current de facto devolved nature of many regions in the country.

The most common languages spoken in Afghanistan are Dari (also known as Eastern Persian; roughly 50%) and Pashto (roughly 35%). Both are Indo-European languages from the Iranian languages sub-family, and the official languages of the country.

Religiously, Afghans are over 99% Muslims: mostly Sunni

Afghanistan is an impoverished country, one of the world's poorest and least developed. In 2010, 40% of Afghans live below the poverty ine. Two-thirds of the population lives on fewer than 2 US dollars a day. Its economy has suffered greatly from the 1979 invasion and subsequent conflicts, while severe drought added to the nation's difficulties in 1998–2001. According to the World Bank, "economic growth has been strong and has generated better livelihoods" since 2001.

The economically active population in 2002 was about 11 million (out of a total of an estimated 29 million). As of 2005, the official unemployment rate is at 40%. The number of non-skilled young people is estimated at 3 million, which is likely to increase by some 300,000 per annum.

Education

As of 2006 more than four million male and female students were enrolled in schools throughout the country. However, there are still significant obstacles to education in Afghanistan, stemming from lack of funding, unsafe school buildings and cultural norms. A lack of women teachers is an issue that concerns some Afghan parents, especially in more conservative areas. Some parents will not allow their daughters to be taught by men.

UNICEF estimates that more than 80 percent of females and around 50 percent of males lack access to education centers. According to the United Nations, 700 schools have been closed in the country because of poor security.

Literacy of the entire population is estimated at 34%. Female literacy is 10%.

Since the 1930s there have been two French lycées (secondary schools) (AEFE contracted school) in Kabul, the Lycée Esteqlal and Lycée Malalaï.

A new military school has been set up to properly train and educate Afghan soldiers.

Higher Education

In recent years, Kabul University was reopened to both male and female students.

In 2006, the American University of Afghanistan also opened its doors, with the aim of providing a world-class, English-language, co-educational learning environment in Afghanistan. The university accepts students from Afghanistan and the neighboring countries.

Construction work will soon start at the new site selected for University of Balkh in Mazari Sharif. The new building for the university, including the building for the Engineering Department, would be constructed at 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land at the cost of 250 million US dollars.

The size of Afghanistan would suggest that it would have several tens of universities. On the other hand its poverty would tend to indicate the opposite - and likewise the instability in many rural regions. In fact there appear to be around 20 higher education institutions - but some spot checks indicate that many are very small (around 1500 students).

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Afghanistan for the list - about half (ten or so) have Wikipedia entries.

A few of those with Wikipedia entries are listed below - with a focus on those which are more important, larger, IT-aware or in the cities.

American University of Afghanistan

The American University of Afghanistan ((AUAF) is Afghanistan’s first private, not-for-profit institution of higher education. Established in 2006, AUAF offers three undergraduate degree programs, as well as intensive English-language preparation courses and professional development training. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_University_of_Afghanistan and its site http://www.auaf.edu.af/index.php. See also http://www.auaf.edu.af/news_2009_3.html on the IT courses.

Khost University

Khost University (nickname: Shaikh Zayed University) is located in the border town of Khost in eastern Afghanistan. It was established in the year 2000. It was shifted from its previous temporary location in Peshawar, Pakistan, where it was named "Afghan University Peshawar" by special order of the President.

Khost University has nine faculties and more than 3000 students. It has a private radio station for journalism faculty. It is the only university in Afghanistan with a faculty of computer science. It has a hostel for students, and medical students are trained at the government-run hospital, Khost Hospital. This university was officially opened by the United Arab Emirates officials and Khost governor in March 2008.

Khost University is one of eleven Afghan educational institutions that have e-learning labs, provided by USAID.

Nangarhar University

Nangarhar University (Pashto: د ننګرهار پوهنتون) is a government-funded higher learning institution in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. It is the second largest university in Afghanistan. It has approximately 250 faculty and 3,500 students. See http://nangarharuniversity.org/

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