Give Afghans a University Degree

The Afghan Institute of Learning’s Gawhar Shad University continues to provide excellent post-secondary education to Afghans in Kabul, Afghanistan and Peshawar, Pakistan. Gawhar Shad University was founded in 2003 by AIL in response to the lack of post-secondary education opportunities for Afghan youth. Today, the University has three curriculum tracks; the College of Nursing/Health Education, the College of Math and Computer Science, and the College of Education.

The Nursing/Health Education program provides female students with a broad knowledge-base and skill set in nursing, health education, vaccination, midwifery, and disease prevention. This nine-month intensive program requires students to complete practical as well as classroom work and provides instruction on over 100 medical topics. To date, 77 women have graduated from this program and are providing urgently needed health care services to thousands of Afghan women who would not otherwise have access to care.

The College of Math and Computer Science course subjects include Computer, Math, Dari, Psychology, and English. To date, more than 400 students have studied in this college and 147 students are continuing their studies. 38 students have graduated from the 3 year course and many former students have transferred their credits and entered four-year programs at Kabul University or other universities abroad.

In the College of Education, teachers study student-centered, interactive methods of teaching and learn how to train other teachers to use these methods. They also learn to develop workshops and curriculum. The College of Education had graduated 14 Master Teacher Trainers and 23 teacher trainers.