Briefing Note – One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) in Afghanistan

Executive Summary

It is well established that Education is one of the most important aspects of human development and a key contributor to stability. In Afghanistan however, although relatively rapid progress has been made in the education sector, just over half (52%) of primary school aged children are enrolled in school (1).

Furthermore, due to insufficient school buildings and teachers, which forces some schools to run up to three shifts per day, and to place over 50 children in some classes, each child generally receives only 2.5 hrs (5 x 30min periods) of school a day. Research widely concludes that amongst the most important variables in the quality of education are: the amount of time students are exposed to curriculum (Time on Task); structured Feedback provided through marked homework assignments, quizzes and tests; and, access to information resources and facilities generally found in school
Libraries.

For the 48% of children outside of the mainstream education system currently growing up illiterate there have been initiatives known as “Community Based Education” supporting any available literate or semi-literate members of the community to provide education for the children of other community members whose parents are likely illiterate. OLPC addresses:

Time on Task: Afghan children receive approximately half the developed nations (OECD) average time on task to cover their curriculum in mainstream schools. In community based education scenarios the same time is alloted however more time is often needed for basic checks on students (health and welfare) thus depleting time for curriculum learning.
Feedback: Whereas OECD teachers typically spend 15 hours/week providing structured feedback to students, Afghan teachers have no such allotted time; consequently there is little if any way to verify student understanding of the curriculum. The fact that most parents are illiterate, so cannot provide educational support to their children at home, is another major constraint to the improvement of Afghan education. Community based teachers may not even be able to check or work out answers themselves leaving them unable to provide help and feedback in many instances.
Library Resources: Afghan schools have insufficient library resources for the children that they teach, providing little opportunity to widen their horizons and nurture their intellectual potential.

The ultimate measure of success in any education system is the production of more highly educated graduates who become a more capable and relevant workforce. That workforce in turn becomes the foundation of a sustainable and diverse economy which raises the standard of living, reduces poverty and contributes measurably to prosperity, security and stability. However, if the identified deficits in key determinants of educational quality are not addressed, all the efforts currently being expended in the education sector are at risk, and may never produce the required result.

The conventional remedy of building more schools, training more teachers and providing more materials would require a six fold increase to the education budget (in the order of $1.8Bn USD per year) and would take 10-15 years to yield measurable results. While a steady increase in teacher capacity and educational infrastructure is expected over time, Afghanistan does not have the luxury of waiting 15 years to produce the work force foundations for sustainable economic growth. A cost effective, accelerated method is required.

That measure is found in the judicious application of the OLPC concept, in a blended learning scenario (technology in conjunction with a teacher). As this paper will show, in 12-18 months OLPC can more than double Time on Task, provide Structured Feedback on all curriculum materials, and provide rich Digital Library resources. The Ministry of Education standard curriculum can be transformed into interactive books with support materials for teachers. A blended learning model (where educational time is comprised of self study with the laptop at home using interactive curriculum material and sharing the learning experience together with the teacher and fellow students in the classroom) will finally give children in both mainstream and community settings sufficient learning time and support to achieve curriculum outcomes.

Small scale OLPC pilot projects have been conducted in Afghanistan since early 2008 in order to gauge cultural acceptance and to test actual increases in educational outcomes. Initial indications show promising results including teacher acceptance and increases in curriculum standardized test results
(21.3%) (2).

It is estimated that in order to address the currently enrolled grade 4, 5 and 6 population approximately 2.2 Million XO laptops would be required in both Ministry of Education schools and community based education deployments. However, as sufficient research into the optimum use of this technology has not yet been conducted in Afghanistan, an integrated pilot of 10,000 OLPC laptops is suggested to scientifically assess the OLPC learning impact compared to conventional control cases. In addition there is a requirement to test practical and logistical challenges such as field support, develop interactive audiovisual standard curriculum, and to establish the institutional and project management capacity to handle such an initiative in the Ministry of Education.

This paper proposes a three phase implementation approach. Phase 1 is a six month validation of educational outcomes and capacity of the Ministry of Education and partners to implement and support the project. Phase 2 would be an 18 month nationwide implementation of 1,000,000 XO laptops. Phase 3 would be the sustainability phase to re-supply children entering the fourth grade.