Launch of family literacy and learning course in Pashto

Afghanistan faces one of the world’s lowest youth and adult literacy rates – a consequence of four decades of conflict, natural disasters and poverty that has profoundly impacted the country’s education system. Millions of Afghans, particularly women and girls, are unable to access literacy and adult learning opportunities. In response to this, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the UNESCO Kabul Office have launched an online family intergenerational literacy and learning (FILL) course for Pashto-speaking Afghan parents.

In Afghanistan, only 47 per cent of young people aged 15 to 24 are literate. Adult literacy stands at 31.4 per cent, meanwhile, with only 17 per cent of women in the country able to read and write. There are also challenges concerning enrolment in primary education: only half of primary school aged children are in school and, of those, 93 per cent in later primary grades exhibit inadequate literacy skills.

To promote literacy and learning within the home – and in recognition of parents’ role in their children’s early education – the newly launched self-paced course provides practical ideas and activities for Pashto-speaking Afghan parents and caregivers. These resources aim to engage children and other family members in immersive home-based learning, offering tips on how to incorporate literacy-related activities into daily routines and infuse an element of fun into the learning process. 

The activities draw inspiration from culturally rich and contextually relevant practices, including traditional storytelling, reading, writing stories and poems, playing games and learning everyday numeracy. Parents and caregivers are also encouraged to share the activities within their communities to foster a culture of learning and literacy at the local level.

Participation in the course is free of charge.

Interested partners are invited to reach out to uil-fill@unesco.org.  

Accessibility: The course will be freely accessible until 31 December 2024. 

Duration: Approximately 10 learning hours 

Language: Pashto  

Registration: Enrol in the course by following the steps below.    

Step 1: Create an account on the UIL Learning Hub, here: https://learninghub.uil.unesco.org/login/signup.php?lang=ps 

Step 2: Log in the course platform using the username and password. 

Step 3: Self-enrol in the course here: https://learninghub.uil.unesco.org/course/view.php?id=50#section-3 

Background

The family literacy and learning course in Pashto is part of UNESCO’s wider efforts to improving education in Afghanistan. A UNESCO advocacy campaign reached over 20 million Afghans to increase public awareness of the right to education for youth and adults, especially adolescent girls and women. Among many other initiatives, UNESCO has also partnered with NGOs on the ground, providing content and funding to deploy a community-based literacy campaign that targeted 25,000 young people and adults in rural areas, including mostly adolescent girls above the age of 15 and women. UNESCO has also supported the development of quality teaching and learning materials for the Youth and Adult Literacy and Basic Education programmes in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a member of the UNESCO Global Alliance for Literacy, launched in 2016 to advance global literacy efforts and address challenges to promoting literacy around the world.