1000s of Afghan women, girls join online study programs

KABUL (TOLOnews): The Financial Times reported that following the ban on female education in Afghanistan, thousands of Afghan women and girls have been able to join online study programs in the US and UK.
The University of the People, a US-accredited non-profit higher education institution, said that more than 21,000 Afghan women had applied in the past year for its degree courses, with more than 3,100 currently enrolled to study subjects including business, computer science, health and education.
The providers say “they have seen strong demand from Afghanistan for courses on subjects including English language, science and business since the Taliban extended their ban on female attendance at schools to include higher education in December 2022.”
“Tens of thousands of Afghan women and girls have been able to join online study programmes despite the Taliban government’s ban on female education, according to internet-based course providers,” the report reads.
Meanwhile, some university lecturers while urging the reopening of schools and universities, said that Online study programs cannot be useful in the long run.
“This is an effective way to use this opportunity, but in the long run it cannot be enough and it is better that schools and universities open for girls,” said Hekmatullah Mirzada, a university lecturer.
“Online courses do not have much efficiency,” said Imal Rasa, another university lecturer.
Sanam, who was enrolled in the third year at a private university in Kabul, said that she began taking online courses after being denied from going to university.
She said that online programs were not so effective to her.
“Due to the problem of internet and the shortage of electricity, we cannot get the lessons properly through online, and the teachers cannot teach the way they teach in face to face classes,” Sanam told TOLOnews.
FutureLearn, which was launched by the Open University in the UK in 2012 and has been owned by Global University Systems since December 2022, offers more than 1,200 courses, with English language accounting for four of the five most popular classes among Afghan students.
People said power cuts and erratic digital connections were issues for Afghan women and that it provided asynchronous sessions and online textbooks to allow students to catch up as well as scholarships to cover their costs.