The graduation of each and every one of the more than 50 pupils killed on Saturday in a car bomb attack outside of Kabul’s Sayed Al Shuhada secondary school should have been a crowning achievement for Afghanistan.
They are not even the first victims of such an attack this month. On May 1, another car bomb exploded outside a guest house in Logar province, where a group of students was staying after having travelled to the capital to sit their university entrance exams.
As Afghanistan prepares to enter a new phase in its history – one marked by the accelerating withdrawal of US forces and their foreign allies – one of its greatest tests will be sorting out the vexing riddle that paralyses its education system and, with it, the country’s hopes for prosperity.
Afghanistan cannot become a stable, prosperous country if its young people are not educated. And they cannot receive an education if their country is unstable and under-resourced. This was widely recognised to be an issue as the US first invaded Afghanistan in 2001, when most Afghans born during the preceding two decades had no formal education at all. Two decades on, the issue remains. And given that Afghanistan has one of the youngest populations in the world, with a median age of just 15, allowing this problem to fester means the consequences in future years will only grow worse.
The World Bank identifies four basic requirements for schools to succeed in getting their students to learn: skilled and motivated teachers, effective school management, school resources and preparation for students. According to a survey conducted by the organisation in 2019, Afghanistan is severely lacking in every one.
Entirely incompetent teachers outnumber skilled ones. The World Bank survey found that, in fourth-grade classes, a mere 40 per cent of teachers showed any evidence of mastering the language curriculum. Even fewer had any mastery of mathematics. In primary school, which includes the fourth grade, every minute of learning at the hands of a good teacher counts for that much more – the school day is a mere three-and-a-half hours long. As the World Bank has noted, this means that Afghan children “receive less effective teaching than any sub-Saharan African country”.
When skilled instructors can be found, they are often required to travel considerable – and dangerous – distances to reach the schools that need them. The same goes for administrators and even exam invigilators. While the students killed in the Logar guest house bombing had managed to travel to Kabul to sit their university entrance exams, most of their peers elsewhere in the country are unable to do the same. In some places, students had to sit their exams weeks or months early because of a shortage of invigilators from the capital. Thanks to a national education system that is highly centralised, but nonetheless very weak, training staff locally is not an option.
In other circumstances, early exams might simply be frustrating. But in rural Afghanistan, they can be physically agonising, because exams very often must be held outside in the open. Nearly half of the 18,000 schools in the country lack adequate facilities, and more than 450 schools have been closed down – many because of damage caused by the ongoing war. In Daykundi province, in central Afghanistan, exams had to be held at the start of March this year. Photos circulated on social media of hundreds of students seated outside in a field, on the ground, without chairs, with their exam papers on their laps, covered in snow.
The students who brave these circumstances – who, incredibly, have the privilege of braving them – are only slightly less rare than the skilled teachers who prepare them. Nearly four million Afghan children are not enrolled in any school at all, out of a total school-aged population of 8.4 million. The Covid-19 pandemic forced hundreds of millions of children around the world to forgo classroom schooling last year, but in Afghanistan, the consequences have been particularly catastrophic. The UN estimates that 40 per cent of young Afghans now are neither enrolled nor employed.
There is a dangerous spiral between this severe under-education and the country’s prospects of remaining locked in war. And while it may appear to be a chicken-and-egg paradox that stability requires education and vice versa, in truth, the spiral can go up or down.
More from Sulaiman Hakemy
There is a popular and perennial conspiracy theory in Afghanistan that every one of the past century’s eruptions of war is caused by some state or another lusting after the country’s precious resources. And yet, no invading force has ever undertaken a serious effort to mine copper, iron ore, chromite or even lapis lazuli. There is only one truly precious resource in a country as poor as Afghanistan, and that is the potential of its people. In other words, their desire to learn, to educate themselves and be educated and to do better. Any side to the country’s war – be it the government or the Taliban or anyone else – who wants to see the country thrive, even under their own preferred ideology, must recognise the basic value of education in achieving that.
Even an extremist government needs engineers and doctors. Even an extremist government needs scientists to protect its population from pandemics. Militants do not have to attack students. Even they must come to see the sense in resisting that urge. Just this tiny gesture in favour of stability might grant just enough room for just enough education to breed just a little more stability.
One student signing up for this year’s university entrance exams, in Paktia province, understands this better than anyone. He is in his 70s, having lived long enough to see what Afghanistan once was and what it has become. By sitting for his exam, he has shown that he also knows what Afghanistan could yet be.
Day 3 stumps
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)
Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
The low down on MPS
What is myofascial pain syndrome?
Myofascial pain syndrome refers to pain and inflammation in the body’s soft tissue. MPS is a chronic condition that affects the fascia (connective tissue that covers the muscles, which develops knots, also known as trigger points).
What are trigger points?
Trigger points are irritable knots in the soft tissue that covers muscle tissue. Through injury or overuse, muscle fibres contract as a reactive and protective measure, creating tension in the form of hard and, palpable nodules. Overuse and sustained posture are the main culprits in developing trigger points.
What is myofascial or trigger-point release?
Releasing these nodules requires a hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure to release muscular shortness and tightness. This eliminates restrictions in connective tissue in orderto restore motion and alleviate pain. Therapy balls have proven effective at causing enough commotion in the tissue, prompting the release of these hard knots.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Switching%20sides
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29 – Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30 - UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1 - UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2 – Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4 - Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6 – Final
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
