Workshop to Strengthen Coordination among Lit-Staff

The UNESCO Office in Afghanistan, the Afghan National Association for Adult Education (ANAFAE) and the Deputy Ministry of Education for Literacy (DMoEL) jointly conducted a training workshop for 34 Provincial Literacy Managers and 16 District Literacy Managers from October 31 to November 2, 2016, at the Science Center in Kabul.

The workshop aimed at strengthening coordination among central and field staff of the Literacy Department, as well as the planning of activities for the 3rd cycle of literacy courses under the UNESCO “Enhancement of Literacy in Afghanistan” Phase III (ELA III).

In 2017, the ELA III will deliver literacy courses in 155 districts across all the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, reaching 8,846 literacy learners 60% of whom will be women.

At the opening of the workshop, the Deputy Minister, Dr. Sardar Mohammad Rahimi, stated that the coordination among central and field staff of the Literacy Department should become stronger and the local communities should be given more responsibilities in the implementation of literacy education programmes. This will make literacy education more successful, while the government’s role is to monitor and manage the implementation. Government and Literacy partners should win the support of the local communities to make literacy education more inclusive and nationwide.

The ELA programme has been able to reach the most remote regions of Afghanistan and transform the lives of thousands of people who would otherwise not have the opportunity to access education.

During the workshop ANAFAE’s responsibility was to focus on the role of the Provincial Literacy Directors.

How they can improve the local coordination with the local literacy teachers and the communities and how they can give better support for the implementation of literacy education courses. In a participatory approach all Provincial Literacy Directors had a unique chance to exchange their ideas and prepared their plans for the upcoming year.

This part of the training workshop was very enthusiastic and highly appreciated by the Provincial Directors.

ANAFAE will support regular meetings of the literacy actors at provincial level in most of the provinces in 2017. In addition, ANAFAE will help to promote the important intergovernmental cooperation between different ministerial departments, like with the women department, the agricultural department and department for social and labour affairs and with many others within the different provinces.

At national such an intergovernmental structure, the “Committee for Literacy Education of the Cabinet of Ministers” was already established in 2015. At provincial level this support structure still needs promotion, to successfully support the literacy education throughout the country.