BACKGROUND
The Education in Emergencies (EiE) Response Plan for Afghanistan reports that approximately 3.5 million primary school-aged children were out of school in 2016, with 75% being girls.
Ongoing shocks such as natural disasters and conflict, along with cultural beliefs, and increasing poverty levels have combined to reduce children’s attainment of education in Afghanistan. For those that do attend school, they do so in schools with too few resources and insufficient space; the 2016 EMIS school survey indicated that existing schools were overcrowded with an average class size of 42 students.
In addition, more than 621,000 returnees arrived in Afghanistan during 2016, of which 251,552 were undocumented returnees. This influx of returnees has compounded the strain already experienced by NGOs providing humanitarian aid in Afghanistan’s Eastern region, particularly Nangarhar.
Children of returnee families have faced discrimination, lack of education documentation, and few or no education opportunities in Afghanistan. A survey conducted by Save the Children International in Nangarhar found that approximately 37% of returnee children were not enrolled in school, and for those returnee children that were attending school, 49% were more than 3 km walking distance from the nearest formal school.