The Afghanistan National Literacy Center
Carrying forward the Mission of the Women’s Teacher Training Institute
The Women’s Teacher Training Institute (WTTI) was established in 2004 with a mandate to become the leading literacy and teaching training center in Afghanistan. Since its establishment, the WTTI has built a cadre of well-trained professionals in such areas as adult literacy and numeracy education, learner generated materials production, active learning, peace education, learner assessment, and microfinance and materials development. Former participants of these trainings are now leading initiatives to bring educational opportunities to women, men, and youth nation-wide. Altogether over 450 trainers and teachers at national, provincial and district levels participated in these trainings. Fifty percent of the participants were women.
A key priority of the WTTI has been to ensure that women, men, and youth without access to other education can benefit from the opportunities that literacy brings. Staff at the WTTI designed and delivered an innovative community development program Literacy and Community Empowerment which integrated local governance activities, economic empowerment, and literacy and numeracy education. From 2004 to 2006, this program served 8711 community members, including 4284 women, in Parwan, Bamyan, Herat, Kandahar, and Farah provinces. WTTI provided training to other women’s literacy initiatives as well, including the USAID-funded integrated health and literacy program, Learning for Life. In addition to its literacy education initiatives, the WTTI provided training to over 300 women at Kabul University in issues such as conflict resolution, women and development, and youth development.
From 2008 onwards, the National Literacy Center will carry forward the work of the WTTI in the areas of literacy education and teacher training and expand its mission to include priorities identified in the new National Education Strategic Plan. These priorities include standards for teacher certification, learner assessment, and policy issues that address critical issues in literacy education. The National Literacy Center will expand efforts to train and certify female village teachers in rural and remote areas where the need for educational opportunities for women are the greatest, with only 18% of that population being literate.
The National Literacy Center will deliver and support Learning for Community Empowerment 2[1](LCEP 2), a community-based economic empowerment, productive skills, and literacy program. This programserves 312,000 adults and older youth in 20 provinces. The program developed by the WTTI serves as the foundation for LCEP 2. Sixty percent of the participants are women. Participation in the LCEP 2 market-driven productive skills training, self help savings groups, and business development skills training will expand the women’s opportunities to earn viable incomes in support of their families.
This National Literacy Center initiative will build a cadre of more than 5500 women trained as social organizers, village teachers, and productive skills trainers with the capacity to serve their communities for years to come. The National Literacy Center will train altogether 80 master trainers; 520 social organizers who will train, guide, and support 6240 village teachers; and 2500 productive skills trainers.
[1]Learning for Community Empowerment 2 is a five year USAID-funded program, operated by the National Literacy Center with technical support from UN-HABITAT.