Afghan professors train at IU

After four months of attending and observing classes at IU's School of Education, four instructors from Kabul Education University in Afghanistan are nearing the end of their stay in Bloomington. The four English professors are Fulbright scholars sponsored by the U.S. State Department. They have been taking language and technology courses as well as auditing class instruction at IU. The instructors hope to use and disseminate the new skills they have acquired to assist in the development of Afghanistan's institutions of higher education. \nBefore the professors return to home they will take part in a public discussion about their experiences here and the challenges facing their country's educational system. The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. today at the Monroe Public library. \nAt a press conference Thursday, the instructors described the difficult history of Afghanistan's institutions of higher education and the toll the country's political woes have dealt them. Noor Ahmadzai, professor of English at KEU said more than two decades of conflict had left the country's economy and infrastructure in tatters, including the nation's educational system. \nSoviet military intervention from 1978 until the early 1990s, the rule of the Taliban starting in 1995 and the U.S. invasion in October 2001 have had a heavy toll on Afghanistan's infrastructure and society. Past conflicts have also left large swaths of the country strewn with land mines. \nUniversity buildings were not spared from crossfire and armed groups at times took up positions on campuses and converted class room buildings into makeshift barracks. \nProfessor Ahmadzai said he still laments the chronic lack of \neducational materials such as chairs, desks, books, and black boards. \nProfessor Mohammad Azimi said progress in rehabilitating the country's educational system was slowly being made. "The education system is getting better day by day," Azimi said, but added that there is a long way to go. "Seventy percent of Afghans are illiterate."\nProfessor Mohammad Osool told an anecdote of the direness of the lack of adequate class rooms by describing how he once had to administer an exam in a parked school bus due to the lack of usable classrooms. \nAhmadzai encouraged more foreign aid and government budget appropriating for education. \n"Education makes good economics," Ahmadzai said. Afghanistan's U.S.-backed post Taliban government headed by Ahmad Karzai is largely funded by foreign aid. \nOsool said improved education is the best hope for his country. \n"A building will be destroyed in fighting, but education is indestructible," he said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Rami \nChami at rchami@indiana.edu.