People had been prohibited from attending university since 1996 when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2001. Utilizing information from the Labor Force and Household Studies conducted in Afghanistan in 2007, 2014, and 2020, I, along with World Bank training expert Raja Bentaouet Kattan and scholar Rafiuddin Najam from American University. We found it was tremendous.
In the midst of the Taliban’s fall, education options expanded at all rates. The infant mortality rate declined by half, and the gross national income per capita almost tripled ( in real terms in purchasing authority, from US$ 810 in 2001 to$ 2, 590 in 2020.
Ladies are at the center of the country’s economic growth during this time. The general average return on investment in schooling in Afghanistan is minimal, but it is still great for women. For example, for every additional year of schooling a woman received, her earnings increased 13 %. This is higher than the average return on investment in knowledge, which is 9 % worldwide.
Why it concerns
The Taliban re-established its hold on power in 2021 after 20 years since the first restrictions on children’s schooling.
The financial cost could exceed$ 1 billion, excluding the higher social charges posed by lower female education degrees. For context, Afghanistan’s entire gross domestic product was just$ 17 billion in 2023.
Our research demonstrates how disastrous the most recent learning ban could be for everyone in the country.
How we did our labor
Studies on the monetary gain to teaching, especially for women, is limited in Afghanistan. However, for proof is essential to comprehending the financial loss that a nation experiences when women are denied access to education and employment opportunities.
Our study sought to fill this gap by examining how income changed as a result of an extra month of education. We examined the changes that occurred between 2004, when the government made compulsory education available to both men and women starting in the fifth through eighth grades, and 2020.
Our findings indicate that excluding women from work and training is significantly more expensive than originally thought. According to our research, Afghanistan risks losing over$ 1.4 billion annually. This equates to a 2 % decrease in national income.
What’s following
Scientists have long held that investing in children’s education has a greater impact than just for each individual person. It offers generations-long economic and social benefits. Higher college enrollment costs are among these factors, as are improved health for her children.
In addition to the financial gains, additional research may be done to examine the social benefits of children’s schooling in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021. Future studies may look at the impact of investment in women’s education on public schooling by examining whether it reverses generational poverty cycles, promotes public health, and reduces inequality, giving rise to a multiple effect that benefits full communities.
Every extra day that the education restrictions on women’s education is in effect, generations get worse, losses get worse, and millions of young people’s dreams get further out of reach.
The University of Arkansas ‘ seat in training plan is Harry Anthony Patrinos.
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