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KABUL (SW): President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has acknowledged that he failed to fulfill the promises he made to the teachers’ community last year, but hoped to make up for it this year.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the start of the new academic year on Tuesday, the President likened the school bells as the driving force for stability in the country.
He thanked the teachers and said that despite numerous challenges they continue to teach the students for a better future.
Being failed to fulfill the promises he made to the teachers during the election campaign, Ghani was faced criticism.
He had promised to them that he would distribute land among the teachers in the first six months after taking the office.
Ghani admitted that he failed to keep the promises he had made and said that he could not distribute lands among the teachers because the land plots designated for the purpose were far away from where the teachers live.
He added that a number of lands belonging to the Ministry of Education have been grabbed by the influential people that would soon be returned to the possession of the ministry.
He expressed satisfaction from the numbers of the students attending schools yet he said that the quality of education should fundamentally be changed for the better.
He also emphasized on reforming the structure of ministry and ensuring transparency in recruiting teachers.
Asadullah Hanif Balkhi, Minister of Education, said that they work on a five-year plan for the ministry and promised that it would be completed in the near future.
Speaking on the first year performance of the ministry, the minister said that they published 22 million textbooks last year and would be distributed to the students this year.
He added that they would expect more than 1 million new students to be enrolled in schools this year out of which 41 percent are going to be female.
Balkhi further said that the ministry will send 800 students to India and Tajekistan to learn professional skills.
According to the minister, constructing 590 educational centers, 387 schools and 168 religious madrassas are parts of their plan for this year.
According to reports, there have been thousands of ghost students and schools in the structure of the ministry.
Officials at the ministry said that they would do their best to get the exact number of students and teachers in the country.
ENDS
