Naeem Sabawon, a graduate in sociology from Pakistan, has dedicated the past 15 years to the field of education research. His extensive experience includes pivotal roles in projects supported by prominent organizations such as UNDP, UNODC, and the World Bank, notably contributing to initiatives like EQUIP and EQRA. Additionally, Mr. Sabawon has lent his expertise as a lead consultant to projects under the aegis of Children in Crisis and APEX Consulting. His professional journey also encompasses valuable contributions as an Individual Consultant for UN Women and UNESCO across various projects.
Exponential gains in school enrolment in Afghanistan since 2001 have resulted not only from the e... more Exponential gains in school enrolment in Afghanistan since 2001 have resulted not only from the efforts of the Ministry of Education, but also from the efforts of communities. Community participation in education in Afghanistan is formalized through school management shuras (SMS), parent-teacher councils that have been established and/or strengthened by the MoE through the Education Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP).
This pilot research aimed to determine the level of participation and decision making of women in school shuras.
Empirical research was conducted as a pilot at 18 schools in Kabul City (one of the largest urban centers in Afghanistan), in conjunction with the management councils in each school community. Through structured observations and focus group discussions, the research found that women’s participation in school management shuras is more limited than men’s participation and almost negligible in the boys’ schools sampled. This suggests that women’s voices are not much heard concerning the education of their children. The phenomenon may be attributed to prevailing cultural and traditional norms in patriarchal Afghan society, in which men have an upper hand over women in the decisions about schooling, among others.
The major recommendation to the Ministry of Education based on this pilot research is that any attempts to increase women’s participation in school management shura should take into account the existing social framework of Afghan religious and cultural norms. For example, female-only shuras may be elected for girls’ schools, with meetings held in a private home rather than the very public school setting. However, this assumption will be further tested in the second phase of the study in four more major urban centers (Nangarhar, Kandahar, Herat and Balkh) and would be tested in all provinces in its third phase to both rural and urban centers in all provinces. The provinces will be selected through multi-stage clustering sampling strategy in its third phase.
Exponential gains in school enrolment in Afghanistan since 2001 have resulted not only from the e... more Exponential gains in school enrolment in Afghanistan since 2001 have resulted not only from the efforts of the Ministry of Education, but also from the efforts of communities. Community participation in education in Afghanistan is formalized through school management shuras (SMS), parent-teacher councils that have been established and/or strengthened by the MoE through the Education Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP).
This pilot research aimed to determine the level of participation and decision making of women in school shuras.
Empirical research was conducted as a pilot at 18 schools in Kabul City (one of the largest urban centers in Afghanistan), in conjunction with the management councils in each school community. Through structured observations and focus group discussions, the research found that women’s participation in school management shuras is more limited than men’s participation and almost negligible in the boys’ schools sampled. This suggests that women’s voices are not much heard concerning the education of their children. The phenomenon may be attributed to prevailing cultural and traditional norms in patriarchal Afghan society, in which men have an upper hand over women in the decisions about schooling, among others.
The major recommendation to the Ministry of Education based on this pilot research is that any attempts to increase women’s participation in school management shura should take into account the existing social framework of Afghan religious and cultural norms. For example, female-only shuras may be elected for girls’ schools, with meetings held in a private home rather than the very public school setting. However, this assumption will be further tested in the second phase of the study in four more major urban centers (Nangarhar, Kandahar, Herat and Balkh) and would be tested in all provinces in its third phase to both rural and urban centers in all provinces. The provinces will be selected through multi-stage clustering sampling strategy in its third phase.
In 2017, Ministry of Education (MoE) leadership introduced “Education Reform” to evaluate the eff... more In 2017, Ministry of Education (MoE) leadership introduced “Education Reform” to evaluate the efficiency of the overall education services - financial & human resources and strategic planning of the ministry of education at the central and sub-national level to further improve the education services to maximum regional and global education standards. The education reform planning was closely supervised and monitored under the leadership of Dr. Mohammad Ibarahim Shinwari , through the technical support of the Education Reform Steering Committee. In the initial year, around 4,500 different and relevant educational documents were studied analyzed and meanwhile, at the ministerial level comprehensive consultation meetings were facilitated with different national and international education experts and practitioners. Through the above mentioned approach, the education reform steering committee and education reform technical team drafted a 350 page document to conceptualize the process of the education reform implementation in the ministry of education. The education reform document was shared with all relevant MoE stakeholders for inputs – through collective consideration with all relevant directorates at MoE, around 28 areas were identified and prioritized to be particularly focused and tracked. These areas were further explained by identifying 487 activities to be completed by the end of 2019. Initially these activities were to draft and revise all relevant documents (Policies, Strategies, Guidelines, Procedures, checklists and Plans) and developing and implementing different databases and system (EMIS, HRMIS, School Certificate Distribution Database, Procurement database and teacher recruitment and appraisal databse etc.). In 2018, weekly education reform meetings were facilitated at the Office of the Deputy Minister for General Education (DMGE) to discuss the strategies of implementing education reform activities for improving the education services and to track the progress accordingly. Almost all meetings were recorded and the progress was tracked by the education reform focal point “Abdulhaq Rauf”. In addition, the education reform meetings’ minutes were tracked to assure if the decisions taken in the education reform meetings are implemented and followed up by the relevant directorate. In December 2018, it was suggested by the DMGE to track the education reform progress through standardized tracking process. The newly proposed tracking process was mainly intended to identify the most and least progressed education reform area and the relevant responsible directorates. The education reform tracking process is planned for 18 months by three rounds. The first round will be considered as the baseline. The second round findings will be compared with the baseline and thus most and least productive directorates will be identified. By the end of third round, MoE leadership will conclude with three key decisions such as, 1) proposing change in the directorate leadership, 2) re-structuring the tashkil and Technical Assistance team 3) allocation of budget to the concerned directorate based on their capacity of implementing the budget. Generally speaking, implementing education reform collectively at the ministerial level is a challenging task. However, it will be very easy to propose education reform at the least productive directorates one by one. The education reform technical team proposed to track all 487 activities through face to face interviews with all relevant directorates. Each directorate activities were tracked through already developed individual excels sheets. Each of the face to face interviews was also followed by 3 open ended research questions where head of the relevant directorate and education reform focal point of the relevant directorate were asked about the challenges while implementing education reform at MoE, best coping strategies and their recommendations to the education reform technical team and education reform steering committee. Each of the interviews was planned for 30 to 60 minutes. All 28 interviews were conducted in 8 weeks by the newly appointed education reform focal point for the office of DMGE. During the interviews, it was observed that the proposed 487 activities require another round of consultation with all relevant directorates because there was an overlap and duplication in merely fewer activities. Through, it was also reported by some directorates that these activities were not officially shared with them. During the year 2018, most of the education reform activities were not included in the annual strategic planning of these directorates and that is one of the key reasons for unsatisfactory progress. Moreover, it was also observed during the interviews that majority of the directorates mentioned that most of their activities will be fully implemented by the end of 2019.
Exponential gains in school enrolment in Afghanistan since 2001 have resulted not only from the e... more Exponential gains in school enrolment in Afghanistan since 2001 have resulted not only from the efforts of the Ministry of Education, but also from the efforts of communities. Community participation in education in Afghanistan is formalized through school management shuras (SMS), parent-teacher councils that have been established and/or strengthened by the MoE through the Education Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP).
This pilot research aimed to determine the level of participation and decision making of women in school shuras.
Empirical research was conducted as a pilot at 18 schools in Kabul City (one of the largest urban centers in Afghanistan), in conjunction with the management councils in each school community. Through structured observations and focus group discussions, the research found that women’s participation in school management shuras is more limited than men’s participation and almost negligible in the boys’ schools sampled. This suggests that women’s voices are not much heard concerning the education of their children. The phenomenon may be attributed to prevailing cultural and traditional norms in patriarchal Afghan society, in which men have an upper hand over women in the decisions about schooling, among others.
The major recommendation to the Ministry of Education based on this pilot research is that any attempts to increase women’s participation in school management shura should take into account the existing social framework of Afghan religious and cultural norms. For example, female-only shuras may be elected for girls’ schools, with meetings held in a private home rather than the very public school setting. However, this assumption will be further tested in the second phase of the study in four more major urban centers (Nangarhar, Kandahar, Herat and Balkh) and would be tested in all provinces in its third phase to both rural and urban centers in all provinces. The provinces will be selected through multi-stage clustering sampling strategy in its third phase.
Exponential gains in school enrolment in Afghanistan since 2001 have resulted not only from the e... more Exponential gains in school enrolment in Afghanistan since 2001 have resulted not only from the efforts of the Ministry of Education, but also from the efforts of communities. Community participation in education in Afghanistan is formalized through school management shuras (SMS), parent-teacher councils that have been established and/or strengthened by the MoE through the Education Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP).
This pilot research aimed to determine the level of participation and decision making of women in school shuras.
Empirical research was conducted as a pilot at 18 schools in Kabul City (one of the largest urban centers in Afghanistan), in conjunction with the management councils in each school community. Through structured observations and focus group discussions, the research found that women’s participation in school management shuras is more limited than men’s participation and almost negligible in the boys’ schools sampled. This suggests that women’s voices are not much heard concerning the education of their children. The phenomenon may be attributed to prevailing cultural and traditional norms in patriarchal Afghan society, in which men have an upper hand over women in the decisions about schooling, among others.
The major recommendation to the Ministry of Education based on this pilot research is that any attempts to increase women’s participation in school management shura should take into account the existing social framework of Afghan religious and cultural norms. For example, female-only shuras may be elected for girls’ schools, with meetings held in a private home rather than the very public school setting. However, this assumption will be further tested in the second phase of the study in four more major urban centers (Nangarhar, Kandahar, Herat and Balkh) and would be tested in all provinces in its third phase to both rural and urban centers in all provinces. The provinces will be selected through multi-stage clustering sampling strategy in its third phase.
In 2017, Ministry of Education (MoE) leadership introduced “Education Reform” to evaluate the eff... more In 2017, Ministry of Education (MoE) leadership introduced “Education Reform” to evaluate the efficiency of the overall education services - financial & human resources and strategic planning of the ministry of education at the central and sub-national level to further improve the education services to maximum regional and global education standards. The education reform planning was closely supervised and monitored under the leadership of Dr. Mohammad Ibarahim Shinwari , through the technical support of the Education Reform Steering Committee. In the initial year, around 4,500 different and relevant educational documents were studied analyzed and meanwhile, at the ministerial level comprehensive consultation meetings were facilitated with different national and international education experts and practitioners. Through the above mentioned approach, the education reform steering committee and education reform technical team drafted a 350 page document to conceptualize the process of the education reform implementation in the ministry of education. The education reform document was shared with all relevant MoE stakeholders for inputs – through collective consideration with all relevant directorates at MoE, around 28 areas were identified and prioritized to be particularly focused and tracked. These areas were further explained by identifying 487 activities to be completed by the end of 2019. Initially these activities were to draft and revise all relevant documents (Policies, Strategies, Guidelines, Procedures, checklists and Plans) and developing and implementing different databases and system (EMIS, HRMIS, School Certificate Distribution Database, Procurement database and teacher recruitment and appraisal databse etc.). In 2018, weekly education reform meetings were facilitated at the Office of the Deputy Minister for General Education (DMGE) to discuss the strategies of implementing education reform activities for improving the education services and to track the progress accordingly. Almost all meetings were recorded and the progress was tracked by the education reform focal point “Abdulhaq Rauf”. In addition, the education reform meetings’ minutes were tracked to assure if the decisions taken in the education reform meetings are implemented and followed up by the relevant directorate. In December 2018, it was suggested by the DMGE to track the education reform progress through standardized tracking process. The newly proposed tracking process was mainly intended to identify the most and least progressed education reform area and the relevant responsible directorates. The education reform tracking process is planned for 18 months by three rounds. The first round will be considered as the baseline. The second round findings will be compared with the baseline and thus most and least productive directorates will be identified. By the end of third round, MoE leadership will conclude with three key decisions such as, 1) proposing change in the directorate leadership, 2) re-structuring the tashkil and Technical Assistance team 3) allocation of budget to the concerned directorate based on their capacity of implementing the budget. Generally speaking, implementing education reform collectively at the ministerial level is a challenging task. However, it will be very easy to propose education reform at the least productive directorates one by one. The education reform technical team proposed to track all 487 activities through face to face interviews with all relevant directorates. Each directorate activities were tracked through already developed individual excels sheets. Each of the face to face interviews was also followed by 3 open ended research questions where head of the relevant directorate and education reform focal point of the relevant directorate were asked about the challenges while implementing education reform at MoE, best coping strategies and their recommendations to the education reform technical team and education reform steering committee. Each of the interviews was planned for 30 to 60 minutes. All 28 interviews were conducted in 8 weeks by the newly appointed education reform focal point for the office of DMGE. During the interviews, it was observed that the proposed 487 activities require another round of consultation with all relevant directorates because there was an overlap and duplication in merely fewer activities. Through, it was also reported by some directorates that these activities were not officially shared with them. During the year 2018, most of the education reform activities were not included in the annual strategic planning of these directorates and that is one of the key reasons for unsatisfactory progress. Moreover, it was also observed during the interviews that majority of the directorates mentioned that most of their activities will be fully implemented by the end of 2019.
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Papers by Naeem Sabawon
This pilot research aimed to determine the level of participation and decision making of women in school shuras.
Empirical research was conducted as a pilot at 18 schools in Kabul City (one of the largest urban centers in Afghanistan), in conjunction with the management councils in each school community. Through structured observations and focus group discussions, the research found that women’s participation in school management shuras is more limited than men’s participation and almost negligible in the boys’ schools sampled. This suggests that women’s voices are not much heard concerning the education of their children. The phenomenon may be attributed to prevailing cultural and traditional norms in patriarchal Afghan society, in which men have an upper hand over women in the decisions about schooling, among others.
The major recommendation to the Ministry of Education based on this pilot research is that any attempts to increase women’s participation in school management shura should take into account the existing social framework of Afghan religious and cultural norms. For example, female-only shuras may be elected for girls’ schools, with meetings held in a private home rather than the very public school setting. However, this assumption will be further tested in the second phase of the study in four more major urban centers (Nangarhar, Kandahar, Herat and Balkh) and would be tested in all provinces in its third phase to both rural and urban centers in all provinces. The provinces will be selected through multi-stage clustering sampling strategy in its third phase.
This pilot research aimed to determine the level of participation and decision making of women in school shuras.
Empirical research was conducted as a pilot at 18 schools in Kabul City (one of the largest urban centers in Afghanistan), in conjunction with the management councils in each school community. Through structured observations and focus group discussions, the research found that women’s participation in school management shuras is more limited than men’s participation and almost negligible in the boys’ schools sampled. This suggests that women’s voices are not much heard concerning the education of their children. The phenomenon may be attributed to prevailing cultural and traditional norms in patriarchal Afghan society, in which men have an upper hand over women in the decisions about schooling, among others.
The major recommendation to the Ministry of Education based on this pilot research is that any attempts to increase women’s participation in school management shura should take into account the existing social framework of Afghan religious and cultural norms. For example, female-only shuras may be elected for girls’ schools, with meetings held in a private home rather than the very public school setting. However, this assumption will be further tested in the second phase of the study in four more major urban centers (Nangarhar, Kandahar, Herat and Balkh) and would be tested in all provinces in its third phase to both rural and urban centers in all provinces. The provinces will be selected through multi-stage clustering sampling strategy in its third phase.
Drafts by Naeem Sabawon
The education reform planning was closely supervised and monitored under the leadership of Dr. Mohammad Ibarahim Shinwari , through the technical support of the Education Reform Steering Committee. In the initial year, around 4,500 different and relevant educational documents were studied analyzed and meanwhile, at the ministerial level comprehensive consultation meetings were facilitated with different national and international education experts and practitioners. Through the above mentioned approach, the education reform steering committee and education reform technical team drafted a 350 page document to conceptualize the process of the education reform implementation in the ministry of education.
The education reform document was shared with all relevant MoE stakeholders for inputs – through collective consideration with all relevant directorates at MoE, around 28 areas were identified and prioritized to be particularly focused and tracked. These areas were further explained by identifying 487 activities to be completed by the end of 2019. Initially these activities were to draft and revise all relevant documents (Policies, Strategies, Guidelines, Procedures, checklists and Plans) and developing and implementing different databases and system (EMIS, HRMIS, School Certificate Distribution Database, Procurement database and teacher recruitment and appraisal databse etc.).
In 2018, weekly education reform meetings were facilitated at the Office of the Deputy Minister for General Education (DMGE) to discuss the strategies of implementing education reform activities for improving the education services and to track the progress accordingly. Almost all meetings were recorded and the progress was tracked by the education reform focal point “Abdulhaq Rauf”. In addition, the education reform meetings’ minutes were tracked to assure if the decisions taken in the education reform meetings are implemented and followed up by the relevant directorate.
In December 2018, it was suggested by the DMGE to track the education reform progress through standardized tracking process. The newly proposed tracking process was mainly intended to identify the most and least progressed education reform area and the relevant responsible directorates. The education reform tracking process is planned for 18 months by three rounds. The first round will be considered as the baseline. The second round findings will be compared with the baseline and thus most and least productive directorates will be identified. By the end of third round, MoE leadership will conclude with three key decisions such as, 1) proposing change in the directorate leadership, 2) re-structuring the tashkil and Technical Assistance team 3) allocation of budget to the concerned directorate based on their capacity of implementing the budget.
Generally speaking, implementing education reform collectively at the ministerial level is a challenging task. However, it will be very easy to propose education reform at the least productive directorates one by one.
The education reform technical team proposed to track all 487 activities through face to face interviews with all relevant directorates. Each directorate activities were tracked through already developed individual excels sheets. Each of the face to face interviews was also followed by 3 open ended research questions where head of the relevant directorate and education reform focal point of the relevant directorate were asked about the challenges while implementing education reform at MoE, best coping strategies and their recommendations to the education reform technical team and education reform steering committee. Each of the interviews was planned for 30 to 60 minutes. All 28 interviews were conducted in 8 weeks by the newly appointed education reform focal point for the office of DMGE.
During the interviews, it was observed that the proposed 487 activities require another round of consultation with all relevant directorates because there was an overlap and duplication in merely fewer activities. Through, it was also reported by some directorates that these activities were not officially shared with them. During the year 2018, most of the education reform activities were not included in the annual strategic planning of these directorates and that is one of the key reasons for unsatisfactory progress. Moreover, it was also observed during the interviews that majority of the directorates mentioned that most of their activities will be fully implemented by the end of 2019.
This pilot research aimed to determine the level of participation and decision making of women in school shuras.
Empirical research was conducted as a pilot at 18 schools in Kabul City (one of the largest urban centers in Afghanistan), in conjunction with the management councils in each school community. Through structured observations and focus group discussions, the research found that women’s participation in school management shuras is more limited than men’s participation and almost negligible in the boys’ schools sampled. This suggests that women’s voices are not much heard concerning the education of their children. The phenomenon may be attributed to prevailing cultural and traditional norms in patriarchal Afghan society, in which men have an upper hand over women in the decisions about schooling, among others.
The major recommendation to the Ministry of Education based on this pilot research is that any attempts to increase women’s participation in school management shura should take into account the existing social framework of Afghan religious and cultural norms. For example, female-only shuras may be elected for girls’ schools, with meetings held in a private home rather than the very public school setting. However, this assumption will be further tested in the second phase of the study in four more major urban centers (Nangarhar, Kandahar, Herat and Balkh) and would be tested in all provinces in its third phase to both rural and urban centers in all provinces. The provinces will be selected through multi-stage clustering sampling strategy in its third phase.
This pilot research aimed to determine the level of participation and decision making of women in school shuras.
Empirical research was conducted as a pilot at 18 schools in Kabul City (one of the largest urban centers in Afghanistan), in conjunction with the management councils in each school community. Through structured observations and focus group discussions, the research found that women’s participation in school management shuras is more limited than men’s participation and almost negligible in the boys’ schools sampled. This suggests that women’s voices are not much heard concerning the education of their children. The phenomenon may be attributed to prevailing cultural and traditional norms in patriarchal Afghan society, in which men have an upper hand over women in the decisions about schooling, among others.
The major recommendation to the Ministry of Education based on this pilot research is that any attempts to increase women’s participation in school management shura should take into account the existing social framework of Afghan religious and cultural norms. For example, female-only shuras may be elected for girls’ schools, with meetings held in a private home rather than the very public school setting. However, this assumption will be further tested in the second phase of the study in four more major urban centers (Nangarhar, Kandahar, Herat and Balkh) and would be tested in all provinces in its third phase to both rural and urban centers in all provinces. The provinces will be selected through multi-stage clustering sampling strategy in its third phase.
The education reform planning was closely supervised and monitored under the leadership of Dr. Mohammad Ibarahim Shinwari , through the technical support of the Education Reform Steering Committee. In the initial year, around 4,500 different and relevant educational documents were studied analyzed and meanwhile, at the ministerial level comprehensive consultation meetings were facilitated with different national and international education experts and practitioners. Through the above mentioned approach, the education reform steering committee and education reform technical team drafted a 350 page document to conceptualize the process of the education reform implementation in the ministry of education.
The education reform document was shared with all relevant MoE stakeholders for inputs – through collective consideration with all relevant directorates at MoE, around 28 areas were identified and prioritized to be particularly focused and tracked. These areas were further explained by identifying 487 activities to be completed by the end of 2019. Initially these activities were to draft and revise all relevant documents (Policies, Strategies, Guidelines, Procedures, checklists and Plans) and developing and implementing different databases and system (EMIS, HRMIS, School Certificate Distribution Database, Procurement database and teacher recruitment and appraisal databse etc.).
In 2018, weekly education reform meetings were facilitated at the Office of the Deputy Minister for General Education (DMGE) to discuss the strategies of implementing education reform activities for improving the education services and to track the progress accordingly. Almost all meetings were recorded and the progress was tracked by the education reform focal point “Abdulhaq Rauf”. In addition, the education reform meetings’ minutes were tracked to assure if the decisions taken in the education reform meetings are implemented and followed up by the relevant directorate.
In December 2018, it was suggested by the DMGE to track the education reform progress through standardized tracking process. The newly proposed tracking process was mainly intended to identify the most and least progressed education reform area and the relevant responsible directorates. The education reform tracking process is planned for 18 months by three rounds. The first round will be considered as the baseline. The second round findings will be compared with the baseline and thus most and least productive directorates will be identified. By the end of third round, MoE leadership will conclude with three key decisions such as, 1) proposing change in the directorate leadership, 2) re-structuring the tashkil and Technical Assistance team 3) allocation of budget to the concerned directorate based on their capacity of implementing the budget.
Generally speaking, implementing education reform collectively at the ministerial level is a challenging task. However, it will be very easy to propose education reform at the least productive directorates one by one.
The education reform technical team proposed to track all 487 activities through face to face interviews with all relevant directorates. Each directorate activities were tracked through already developed individual excels sheets. Each of the face to face interviews was also followed by 3 open ended research questions where head of the relevant directorate and education reform focal point of the relevant directorate were asked about the challenges while implementing education reform at MoE, best coping strategies and their recommendations to the education reform technical team and education reform steering committee. Each of the interviews was planned for 30 to 60 minutes. All 28 interviews were conducted in 8 weeks by the newly appointed education reform focal point for the office of DMGE.
During the interviews, it was observed that the proposed 487 activities require another round of consultation with all relevant directorates because there was an overlap and duplication in merely fewer activities. Through, it was also reported by some directorates that these activities were not officially shared with them. During the year 2018, most of the education reform activities were not included in the annual strategic planning of these directorates and that is one of the key reasons for unsatisfactory progress. Moreover, it was also observed during the interviews that majority of the directorates mentioned that most of their activities will be fully implemented by the end of 2019.