Afghanistan became the latest country to join the folds of Citizen Led Assessment (CLA), an approach that originated in India where it is known as ASER (meaning ‘impact’). Like India, Pakistan and Nepal, Afghanistan has also named its endeavor ASER.
ASER Afghanistan embarked upon a pilot in 40 villages in 2 districts of Kabul Province, Charasyaab and Paghman, in June 2018. Thus, far eight volunteers have surveyed 113 households in seven villages. Additionally, a total of 365 children have been surveyed. Three days were spent in each village. They are on Ramadan break now and will restart the pilot after Eid, when rest of the villages of Charasyaab and Paghman districts will be surveyed.
Citizen-led assessments[1] of basic learning have three primary objectives:
- To put children’s learning at the centre of the debates and discussions on education in their own countries.
- To engage citizens in understanding their own situation and strengthening accountability.
- To promote government, parent and citizen action to improve children’s learning.
Citizen-led assessments use rigorous sampling methodologies at household level and generate representative samples of children at national and sub national levels. The tools are designed to be simple so that parents, teachers, schools, communities and ordinary people understand the findings and can conduct the assessment themselves. Together, these efforts provide large-scale, annual, easily understandable indicators of children’s ability to read a simple text and do basic arithmetic operations. Unlike other large-scale learning assessments, this approach is led by citizen groups and has emerged from the global South.
The CLA initiatives evolved organically with the groups coming together voluntarily and in 2015, formally connected through the People’s Action for Learning Network (PAL Network). The CLA in Afghanistan is inherently different from the CLAs of other countries. Unlike the other member countries of PAL Network, it is the Government of Afghanistan that has encouraged the formation of a civil society led assessment, which has taken the form of ASER Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is currently in the process of rebuilding its infrastructure and institutions, under the circumstances the government understands the importance of involving the civil society in this endeavour, particularly in the field of education, which is beset with many problems. The government also understand the role CLA can play both in educating the children and building awareness amongst the public.
The Government of Afghanistan set up a Learning Assessment Unit in March 2013, to understand the problem in their education system and providing quality education. In June 2016 the government sent three academicians and education specialists to attend the inaugural residential workshop on Citizen Led Assessment, conducted by ASER India in collaboration with NEQMAP-UNESCO and PAL Network, in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. This was followed up by another visit of a core team from Afghanistan, to New Delhi, in November 2017, when the ASER India team trained the core team on elements of creating tools and sampling and also the methodology of conducting a village survey. Khan Wali Khan Basharmal who came as part of the 1st delegation in June 2016 to Aurangabad is the inspiration behind ASER Afghanistan. He currently is the Director of the newly formed Directorate of Learning Assessment of Government of Afghanistan.
ASER Afghanistan is being led by Pashtana Durrani, who along with eight well trained volunteers form the current core team.