Female access to higher education in Afghanistan is considered one of the most pressing issues facing the country's education system. Based on the sobering revelations of a recently published by the World Bank, it would appear a great deal of progress is needed.
According to the World Bank's study, in 2012, only 19 percent of the total students enrolled in higher education institutions in Afghanistan were females. The World Bank used the report's release as an opportunity to urge the Afghan government to take immediate steps to increase the female to male ratio in higher education.
Harsha Athur Puna, an education specialist at the World Bank and in-charge of the study, mentioned that the lack of proper education facilities and opportunities for females is the prime reason behind the stratification between male and female students.
Officials from the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) accepted the findings of the report and assured that the government would take all possible measures to improve university facilities to increase accessibility.
"The report was comprehensive and is accepted by the Ministry of Higher Education," said Obaidullah Obaid, the Minister of Higher Education. "We are thankful to the World Bank for pointing out the weak areas and providing a solutions. We and our teams will try to tackle all the challenges."
The World Bank thanked the MoHE for its cooperation in the formulation of the report. However, Mr. Puna noted difficulties that were encountered due to improper documentation and record keeping.
"In terms of the challenges, I think in Afghanistan we still have a lot of data gaps and missing information, which many other countries also have. That was the major challenge," said Mr. Puna. "But we were able to overcome those challenges through consultations with the university lecturers, academicians and students."
The WB took one year to complete and publish the report.