The American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) has announced that it is back – this time online with a Transition to Success (TTS) program for Afghan students living in the country, including women and girls.
According to a statement issued by the university and post to X, the AUAF said the program was aimed at supporting higher education opportunities for Afghan students, particularly women and girls, inside Afghanistan, and to maintain an educated workforce “which will be the basis for political and economic stabilization in Afghanistan”.
The program will be completed in one year and is designed for students who have completed grade 9 and 10 and who could not finish grade 11 due to the ban on girls education inside Afghanistan.
According to the statement, this educational program is in line with and adheres to the main values of the American University of Afghanistan, values that include commitment to freedom of expression, pluralism, free research, equal opportunities, individual rights, tolerance, and dignified personal and professional behavior.
AUAF closed its doors in Kabul in the wake of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s takeover. Authorities meanwhile banned women and girls from attending university in December 2022.
A number of female students welcomed the provision of this educational opportunity.
“I recommend that first a face-to-face lesson should be provided for a student, and the foundation of a student’s lesson should be laid face-to-face, because students learn the basics of social communication and being part of the community through face-to-face lessons, and after that we can replace the online lesson with the face-to-face lesson, in that case there is no problem,” said Tajala, a student.
Some omen’s rights activists believe that in the current situation, online education is the only educational opportunity for Afghan girls.
“Although I am not saying that online learning can be a 100% substitute for face-to-face knowledge, but in the current situation, online knowledge has become a suitable substitute for face-to-face knowledge and can fill most of the gaps created in Afghanistan’s academic environments,” said Adala Zamani, a women’s rights activist.
The Islamic Emirate says that they are not against modern science and efforts are underway to provide education for girls.