Montreal – Expressing his gratitude on behalf of the Afghan people and government, His Excellency M. Haneef Atmar, Minister of Education of Afghanistan, welcomed the announcement made today in Montreal of Canada’s substantial contribution to the Afghan education sector.

The Honourable Beverley Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, joined Min. Atmar at a function sponsored by the Council on International Relations of Montreal (CORIM) to announce the Canadian Government’s $60 million investment over four years to Afghanistan largest education program, the Education Quality Improvement Project (EQUIP), managed by the World Bank.

Thanking Canadian tax-payers for their generosity and the Canadian Government for its leadership role, Min. Atmar said, “while Afghans are grateful to the men and women of the Canadian forces who serve in Afghanistan to protect people against terrorists and enable development work, the new Canadian investment will boost the Canadian profile even more, because it enables Afghans through community-based initiatives to build more than a thousand schools in all provinces, train and pay several thousand teachers, and support the development and printing of new secondary school textbooks based on the new curriculum adopted in the country.”

Also speaking at the CORIM function, Afghan Ambassador Omar Samad thanked Canadians and said, “in effect, Canada has now become the largest donor of its kind in supporting one of the key pillars that is a guarantor of a stable future for my country.”

The Afghan Education Minister also met with Hon. Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada in Ottawa, Wednesday. The two discussed various topics relating to security, international support, and progress and challenges with the benchmarks of the Afghanistan Compact.

Canada’s pledges to rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan started in 2002 and run till 2011 totaling more than $1 billion. Other Canadian aid to the Afghan education sector include funding for BRAC programs to deliver basic education, salary support through the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund and support for UNICEF’s literacy programs in Kandahar province.

Embassy of Afghanistan

October 4, 2007

“While there has been a significant leap in their school enrolment in the past few years, Afghanistan still has some of the lowest education indicators in the world – including large gender gaps and alarmingly high rates of illiteracy for women and girls,” said Minister Oda. “Increasing access to education for young Afghan children, especially girls, is crucial for the future of this country, which is why our Government is pleased to be taking a leadership role with this investment today.”

Canada is contributing $60 million over four years to EQUIP, which is managed by the World Bank. Canada’s investment to EQUIP is the largest investment made by any donor in the world to date.

EQUIP supports activities that strengthen the capacity of schools and communities to manage teaching and learning activities. It also invests in educational facilities and human resources, while placing a special emphasis on the promotion of education for girls.

Today’s announcement is part of Canada's total contribution of more than $1 billion over 10 years aimed at governance, security and development in Afghanistan. It builds on the commitment made by Prime Minister Stephen Harper last February, when he announced substantive funds to enhance the reconstruction and development process.

For more information on Canada’s programming in Afghanistan, please refer to CIDA's website.

Backgrounder

Supporting Afghanistan’s Education Sector

Access to an education opens up a world of potential. Over the past few years, Afghan parents have been investing in their country’s future and prosperity by sending their children to school in unprecedented numbers. The Afghan government recently reported that more than six million children are enrolled in school in 2007/2008, including more than two million girls. This stands in stark contrast to 2001, when only 700,000 children attended school, all of them boys.

While this significant leap in school enrolment is a major milestone, there is still room for progress. Afghanistan continues to have some of the lowest educational indicators in the world, including large gender gaps and high rates of illiteracy for women and girls.

In an effort to help the Afghan government address such gaps, Minister Oda announced on October 4, 2007 that Canada will contribute $60 million over four years to the Education Quality Improvement Project (EQUIP). An investment window of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, the World Bank-managed EQUIP is Afghanistan’s largest education initiative. The program invests in educational facilities and human resources, and helps strengthen the capacity of schools and communities to manage teaching and learning activities, with a special emphasis on the promotion of education for girls.

Canada’s contribution to EQUIP builds on our current assistance to Afghanistan’s education sector, which includes:

* Funding the work of BRAC Afghanistan to deliver basic primary education for some 120,000 children, almost 85% of them girls;
* Contributing to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, which provides regular salary payments to more than 270,000 civil servants, including 144,000 teachers; and
* Supporting UNICEF’s literacy program in Kandahar province, which is assisting literacy centres and teachers, and delivering literacy training to thousands of Afghans, most of them women.

The positive outcomes being achieved in Afghanistan’s education sector are part of Canada’s broader role in the country. Our ongoing efforts are guided by the Afghanistan Compact, a five-year framework for cooperation between the Afghan government and international community in the three priority areas of security, governance and development. Canada is proud to help the Afghan people rebuild their country, one day and one community at a time.