From the days of Taliban rule; when we established 17 secret schools for 425 girls; to today, where we provide quality education for over 23,000 students per year, HTAC has made a strong, consistent commitment in establishing and supporting a variety of primary, middle and high schools in selected regions of Afghanistan. We demonstrate this commitment in three distinct ways.
Establishing Model Schools
Since the opening of our first model school in 2003, HTAC has put a premium on establishing centers of learning that make it possible for Afghan children to succeed. One of the best ways to do this is establishing model schools.
Our model schools are well-built, clean, and fully-operational facilities that provide a challenging, invigorating educational curriculum, a team of highly-qualified and dedicated teachers, and a safe learning environment for girls and boys to flourish.
While Afghanistan remains a somewhat unstable and dangerous country, HTAC makes every effort to establish model schools in communities and districts that are relatively peaceful and where there is strong local support for quality education for their children.
Delivering Innovative Learning Programs
HTAC believes that the next generation of Afghans must be equipped with the critical knowledge, tools, and necessary life skills in order for them to become productive citizens (and for some), their country’s future leaders. That’s why our model schools include innovative learning programs that address many unmet or emerging educational needs.
HTAC was the first organization to introduce computer education, peace education, and environmental education into Afghan public schools and we are continually cultivating new opportunities to integrate new and effective learning programs into Afghanistan’s overall educational curriculum.
Investing in Local Communities
Critical to our model school success is involving local communities. That’s why HTAC invests in the development, training, and empowerment of local Community School Committees. These committees are comprised of: recognized community leaders, elders, parents of school children, local teachers, and other influential citizens. Committees work closely with school officials in addressing various school needs and managing school/community affairs. Over time, Community School Committees learn to help sustain their local model schools and take ownership of their children’s educational welfare.
The following video provides a visual glimpse inside Rokhshana Girls School in Kabul, Afghanistan; one of HTAC’s model schools.This
video (in Farsi), highlights how students are personally benefiting from three HTAC-supported educational programs. Computer Education – Students explain how the lessons are very advantageous and how (working with computers) allows students to solve problems and accomplish a variety of tasks and assignments. Cultural Exchange Program – Students participating in this program describe the value of learning about the cultures of students from Western ‘sister schools’. Peace Education – Students describe how they’re able to express their feelings and emotions (about the trauma of war, and the desire for peace), through puppet shows and drawings.
Istalif Model School – Parwan District, Kabul
Nestled in a peaceful rural setting in the northern section of Kabul, the capital, this area was once the central battleground between Taliban and Northern Alliance forces between 1996 and the Fall of 2001. The community is home to many former refugees and there is a significant demand for quality schools and good teachers.
Originally a boys-only school with an enrollment of approximately 800 students, HTAC will be working closely with school officials and parents to begin enrolling girls with the goal of increasing capacity to 1,500 over a 3-year period.
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Istalif Boys School |
Roshan High School - Laghman Province Located in Mehtar Lam, not far from Jalalabad in Eastern Afghanistan Jalalabad, Roshan High School became the site of HTAC's first landmine educational program. In collaboration with our partners, The Marshall Legacy Institute, this program educates Afghan children about the dangers of land mines, provides prosthetics and rehabilitate care to landmine survivors.
Roshan also became one of our first schools equipped with internet capability and the school conducts regular Skype-cast cultural exchanges with selected schools in the United States.
Roshan School - Students and Teachers |
As one of the largest girls schools in Kabul, offering classes for over 4,000 students from grades 1 through 12, Rokhshana Girls School has been the site for HTAC’s highly successful computer education program for several years. More recently, this school became one of our first two schools that have internet access, providing exciting opportunities for students here to connect with students in the West through cultural exchanges and, connect with and better understand the world around them.
| Rokhshana Girls School-Kabul |
Samangan Model Schools
HTAC has long believed that the best way to improve the quality of life in Afghanistan is through a committed investment in helping rebuild its educational infrastructure. An example of this commitment was the construction and establishment of 4 model schools in the previously under-served province of Samangan, in north central Afghanistan.
Serving over 8,000 boys and girls per year, Aybak, Ajani Malika, Joi Zhwandoon High Schools and Ayencha Middle School comprise some of the most impressive schools in the entire region. Each of these schools possesses fully-operational computer laboratories, highly-qualified teachers, well-trained administrators, and beautiful, clean facilities.
To maintain the quality of these schools, HTAC has also invested heavily in the establishment of 4 highly-active community school committees near each school site that keep each local community engaged in their school and the educational welfare of their children.
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| Ajani Malika Girls School | Aybak School | Joy Zoondon School | Ainacha School | |
Abdullah Bin-Omar Middle School
In the previously under-served district of Paghman (west of the capital city of Kabul), where children once sat on the ground outside, learning their lessons, HTAC established the first model school in the region and one of the first in the country’s history.
Today, Abdullah Bin-Omar boasts 26 classrooms, a computer lab, peace and green rooms (for the study of peace and environmental education), 43 teachers, and approximately 1,500 students (52% girls), representing grades 1 through 9 who attend classes in 2 shifts.
Kohak Primary School – Kandahar Province
In Kandahar Province, once the birthplace of the repressive Taliban, HTAC made significant structural and operational improvements to a damaged school, provided quality training to 14 teachers, delivered much-needed peace, environment, and reading programs for 560 students per year, and (through the establishment of a local community school committee), increased a sense of pride and community ownership of their children’s educational welfare.
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Kohak Primary School - Kandahar Province |
Jamal Agha Girls School – Kapisa Province
Before HTAC made the commitment to establish a new school in the District of Kohestan, girls had been forced to attend classes at rented mud houses because their original school had been completely destroyed.
This new model school has 24 spacious classrooms, 2 irrigation systems that include a deep well for safe drinking water, a basketball and volleyball court, and a fully equipped computer laboratory. The school serves approximately 1,350 students in two shifts.
Karte-Parwan Middle School, Capital City of Kabul
We have renovated and furnished this 28 classroom school, located in the heart of the city. HTAC supports the school by providing extensive teacher training, performance assessments, and computer literacy education to students, teachers, and administrative staff. Currently, the sponsored school in Afghanistan has over 2900 students and 98 teachers.
Badakhshi Girls School – Kapisa Province
This middle school in the underserved district of Nejrab, employs 65 teachers, provides full computer facilities, and serves approximately 1,200 students. Badakhshi was the first HTAC sponsored school to participate in our cultural exchange program with a sister school in the West.