Technology
2. Technology laws, policies, plans and regulations
2.1. Education technology legislative and policy framework
2.2. Technology infrastructures, technological capacity of schools and learning environments
2.3. Technology competencies of learners and teachers
3.1. Institutions in charge of technology in education and coordination mechanisms
1. Terminology
The 2015-2024 Draft ICT Policy and the 2018-2022 Draft ICT Policy refer to the terms “e-education, e-learning, smart schools, remote/distance education, online education, Information and Communication Technology (ICT)” without defining them.
2. Technology laws, policies, plans and regulations
2.1. Education technology legislative and policy framework
Constitution and laws: The 2004 Constitution states that the state shall adopt necessary measures to foster education at all levels (Article 17) and that “Education is a right and free until a B.A (Article 43), that the state shall (Article 44) “devise and implement effective programs to create and foster balanced education for women”. Regarding technology, Article 75 affirms that the government shall “Devise and implement social, cultural, economic and technological development programs”. Article 90 denotes that the National Assembly shall “Approval of social, cultural, economic as well as technological development programs”.
The 2008 Education Act No.56 aims to ensure equal rights in education and training for citizens to promote the economy and to develop and improve its quality. One of the objectives of secondary general education is to promote the “use of contemporary technology, including information technology” (Article 20).
According to a 2019 Press Release, the Cabinet of Afghanistan approved a draft provision composed of 4 chapters and 28 articles of Communications and Information Technology (ICT) High Council to promote the development of ICT at the national level. The 2015-2024 Draft ICT Policy and the 2018-2022 Draft ICT Policy state that “The draft ICT law is aimed at facilitating E-Afghanistan programme of Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT). The Law aims to facilitate and regulate electronic communications and transactions; to provide for the protection of consumers and personal data in the electronic environment, to set out the framework for domain name registration and regulation, the framework for content regulation”.
Policies, plans and strategies: The 2015-2024 Draft ICT Policy and the 2018-2022 Draft ICT Policy included the ICT Education Strategy through which the government aims to expand the use of ICT in education “ICT education will be mandatory in all primary and secondary schools and will be embedded within the school curriculum of all schools in the country”. In addition to that, “30% of all primary and secondary schools in the country would be ‘smart schools’ (..) and “Electronic Learning (E-Learning) would be promoted and integrated as an important component of the Government policy to eradicate illiteracy and provide universal education to all children and provide a platform for life-long learning and skill development among adults.”
Digital competency frameworks: The Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies prioritizes the development of digital skills in the agenda within the framework of the new organizational structure of the Ministry for coordination and management. The country aims to eliminate the existing digital gap among citizens and pave the way for digital change or revolution through the development of digital literacy. The ministry has formed the Digital Skills Development Department which works to set the stage for raising the digital skills level of citizens and set the stage for digital transformation at the country level.
Changes occurred as a result of COVID-19: According to the Country Dashboard of the UNESCO COVID-19 Education Response, school closures took effect from mid-March 2020 with mostly partial openings in between distance education modalities. The MOE published the 2020 Alternate education service delivery COVID-19: emergency response plan and its consolidated version 2020 Alternative Education Plan that responds to a 3-month period of Emergency Situation, from 20th of March to 19th of June 2020, followed by a 9-month “Recovery Response Plan” for school re-opening, from 21 June 2020 to 19 February 2021.
2.2. Technology infrastructures, technological capacity of schools and learning environments
2.2.1. Technology infrastructure and digital capacity of schools
Electricity: The Ministry of Repatriation and Returnees provided electrical power for displaced and returnees' camps during the Emergency COVID-19 Response.
The project, CASA- 1000 (کاسا-۱۰۰۰), is the plan to transfer electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Southern provinces of Afghanistan are expected to benefit the most from this project, receiving over 300 megawatts of electricity.
Computers and devices: The One Laptop per Child program was launched in Afghanistan in 2009. Five hundred laptops were given to Estiqlal High School by the Ministry of Education. The program aimed to supply 5,000 laptops per year to the Ministry of Education.
Internet connectivity: The 2015-2024 Draft ICT Policy aims to expand Universal ICT access to all citizens and “Government Schools, Colleges and Universities will be provided adequate ICT infrastructure, computing resources and broadband internet to ensure availability of ICT to teachers, students and administrators”.
2.2.2. Technology and learning environments
In the COVID-19 Emergency Situation, the 2020 Alternative Education Plan policy demonstrated three alternative learning options. 1) Self-Learning: In the secondary level, students independently learned Islamic, General Education as well as Social Science and Language courses that were broadcasted simultaneously on local radios. 2) Distance Learning: Applicable to all students, science, maths, and foreign language subjects were delivered to students through TV. 3) Small Group Learning: for students who live in remote areas and villages where TV, phones and electricity are not available, and their parents are not able to support them, a group of 5 to 8 students were formed and taught by a teacher in open-air areas; subjects not taught include national languages, social sciences, and Islamic Studies which are self-learned by students.
Afghanistan National Radio and TV: A total of 34 local (TV and Radio) Channels were available in Afghanistan. These included a 24/7 TV network for broadcasting education materials and 3 hours of radio broadcasting
MCIT: Afghan Telecom provided free Internet for students, teachers and supervisors. Furthermore, the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA) expanded the coverage areas of the national and local TV and Radio channels during the emergency situation.
The Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs supported the MOE by conducting the small learning alternative option in remote areas without access to TV, radio and the Internet.
Maarif, an online platform containing courses for primary and secondary school students, was made available by the Ministry of Education. This was fully accessible to any student with an internet connection.
The “Recovery Response Plan” for school re-opening was mainly focused on returning to face-to-face teaching modalities according to the 2020 Alternative Education Plan.
2.3. Technology competencies of learners and teachers
2.3.1. Learners
No information has been found regarding digital skills, frameworks for learners' digital competencies, or the inclusion of STEM in the curricula.
2.3.2. Teachers
The 2008 Education Act No.56 established the Center for Science, Educational and Training Technology to improve the quality of science education and information technology in schools (Article 28) and to “Enhance the level of academic and professional knowledge and improve practical skills of teachers and lecturers in science, mathematics and information technology” (Article 29).
2.4. Cybersecurity and safety
2.4.1. Data privacy
No information has been found on a general data protection law, though Article 31 of the Constitution ensures the right to confidentiality and privacy of communications. The 2014 National Cyber Security Strategy of Afghanistan (NCSA) strategy includes “Safeguarding data privacy of government, businesses and citizens by enabling the protection mechanisms".
2.4.2. Online abuse and cyberbullying
The 2014 National Cyber Security Strategy of Afghanistan (NCSA) strategy included “To enable and strengthen an effective prevention, investigation and prosecution of cyber and electronic crimes, enforce the law enforcement capabilities through an effective cyber law and legislation”.
Afghanistan’s 2017 Cyber Crime Code, which forms part of the country’s Penal Code, defines and punishes crimes that occur in cyberspace through the use of modern technology, information, and electronic communication. Punishable crimes include personal offences against individuals including the misuse of another person’s identity for committing a crime; disclosure of another person’s personal or privacy-related information; blackmail; and using cyberspace to broadcast discriminatory remarks. One of the stiffest fines imposed is for the dissemination of child pornography.
No information has been found in the context of education.
3. Governance
3.1. Institutions in charge of technology in education and coordination mechanisms
Article 7 of the 2008 Education Act No.56 mentions that one of the duties and authorities of the Ministry of Education is to establish information technology in accordance with educational institutions' needs.
Afghanistan also has a Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Both the Ministry of Education and Communications and Information Technology were involved in Afghanistan’s OLPC program.
3.2. Roles of schools
No regulations on the roles of schools, including their management of digital devices or mobile phones, have been found.
