Twelve Afghan women teachers are in the United States to participate in a five-week teacher-training program at the University of Nebraska to augment their teaching skills and to pass along those skills to improve education in Afghanistan.

According to an April 26 media note issued by the State Department, the teachers will visit Washington from April 27 through May 1 to meet with Bush administration officials to discuss educational needs and to evaluate their program, which is being funded by the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

The teachers are among 130 participants in ECA's Afghanistan Teacher Education Project, which began in 2002 as part of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange program.

The 12 women, many of whom taught Afghan children in home-based or underground schools during the Taliban era, are observing U.S. student-centered learning techniques, enhancing their English language skills, learning teaching techniques for reading, writing, and health education, and also improving their basic computer skills, according to the media note.

Upon completion of the five-week program, the teachers will receive a laptop computer and will return to Afghanistan to conduct workshops to train and recruit fellow teachers.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
April 26, 2004

MEDIA NOTE

Afghanistan Teacher Education Project Brings 12 Women to the United States

In support of the administration's ongoing commitment to rebuilding Afghanistan, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs welcomes twelve Afghan women teachers to Washington, D.C., from April 27 through May 1. Many of the teachers have served Afghanistan's children, especially girls, in home-based or underground schools during the repressive years of the Taliban.

Through the Afghanistan Teacher Education Project, the Bureau's Fulbright Teacher Exchange Branch is conducting a multi-year, multi-phase effort to educate primary and English language Afghan women teachers through a grant to the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO), with support from the U.S. Afghan Women's Council. The project supports efforts in Afghanistan to deliver education to all children; augments skills of women teachers in Afghanistan; prepares teachers to train other teachers in Afghanistan; and strengthens U.S.-Afghan cultural ties. This exchange program delivers a significant multiplier effect. Since 2002, over 130 Afghan teachers in Afghanistan have benefited from in-country workshops and training provided by the dozens of teachers who have traveled to the U.S. for teacher-training education. By the end of 2004, an anticipated 500 teachers in Afghanistan will have completed this training.

This group of teachers is focused on primary education, nutrition, and disease prevention, as well as health and education issues resulting from trauma. Beginning their intensive five-week program April 5 in Omaha, the teachers have visited schools throughout Nebraska as an introduction to the U.S. educational system. They have observed student-centered learning, and have enhanced their English and teaching techniques for reading, writing, and health education, as well as their basic computer skills. Each teacher will receive a laptop computer. Upon their return to Afghanistan, the teachers will conduct workshops in basic education and English language skills, distribute educational materials, and recruit other teachers.

In Washington, D.C., the Afghan teachers will meet with government officials from the Department of State and the White House to discuss educational needs and evaluate their program. They also will meet with educators at Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School; participate in media events, and visit museums and historical landmarks. The teachers will return to Omaha May 1 to complete their training in the United States.

This exchange program is part of a series of exchanges with Afghanistan. The participants are among more than 30,000 individuals who participate in U.S. Department of State exchange programs each year.