Agreements signed with Iran still unimplemented

Farideh Momand who was speaking in a session with officials of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad on Wednesday, said that many agreements had not still been implemented and awaited ‘proper time and conditions.’

Momand told the meeting that three Iranian higher education institutes of Islamic Azad University, Payam-e-Nour University, and Jami’at al-Mustafa, a seminary school based on Tehran and Qom, had been established branches in Afghanistan; “unfortunately, no single agreements signed with Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology of Iran has been implemented; these include agreements where Iranian side has accepted to grant Afghan students with scholarships in Iranian universities to improve their academic background,” she objected.

“Afghan officials would welcome committees where closely examine the status of these agreements signed but left in abeyance; research is a major field we want to cooperate on with Iranian academic centers to boost the general conditions of scientific research in Afghanistan, where the universities suffer very low qualities in teaching staff and facilities; for example, we have removed from position those teaching staff with only a BA; however, the scope of deprivation is far beyond these ad-hoc measures,” he emphasized.

Momand also said that her ministry had in agenda fundamental reforms which would bring to Afghan academic landscape to a better position in terms of courses taught and graduate studies provided, where 35 state universities and 117 private institutes host Afghan students; “lower enrolment is an issue of concern thank to the limited capacities of these higher education institutes in accepting students and researchers, confounded with the raising number of university graduates who should bid adieu to the prospect of continuing their education in higher levels,” she asserted.

“Long years of war and ethnic conflict in Afghanistan have virtually destroyed social fabric political and economic infrastructures; the higher education has not been unscathed as well,” she concluded.

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