Some Indian Jesuits helping to re-build educational system in Afghanistan at government the invitation have reported making impressive progress in the war ravaged nation.

“Apart from teaching students technical subjects and English, we are also running training program for teachers,” said Father Maria Joseph from Calcutta province.

He and confrere Father Sahaya Jude have been training students and teachers in the war-torn country for the past four years, said a report in the Telegraph newspaper from Kolkata.

Father Joseph, 36, who has been appointed senior adviser for technical education to the Afghan government’s ministry of education, said the Jesuits are training the teachers to help national education.

On completion of their course, “they will fan out across the country so that education can flourish in Afghanistan,” he said.

With the ministry, Father Joseph is working on a plan to train 1,000 technical teachers in the next five years. He is also restructuring the training modules and supervising their implementation.

The Jesuits’ attempt at boosting education in Afghanistan began in May 2002 but the project was abandoned when situation became too volatile.

The efforts resumed in 2005, when Jesuit Fathers A. Santiago and Noel Oliver started teaching technical subjects to a group of 65 students at Herat University, near the Iranian border.

“The number has now soared to 400. For the past couple of years, we have been teaching at the universities in Bamiyan and Kabul as well,” said Father Joseph, who was in Calcutta recently.

The Jesuits’ efforts have resulted in the commissioning of the National Institute of Management in Kabul last March. Another centre, the National Institute of Computer Technology, is likely to be opened soon in Kabul.

Earlier, Father Joseph had brought a batch of teachers of agriculture for an “exposure tour” to the Pune Agricultural College and the Mahatma Phule Agricultural University at Rahuri in Maharashtra.

Calcutta Jesuit Provincial Father George Pattery said “education in Afghanistan has suffered because of the many wars and continuous internal strife.”

He said the country has a shortage “of trained teachers — a gap that the Jesuits are trying to fill.”

He went to Afghanistan in December 2009 to oversee the initiatives.

“The students and teachers there are very eager to learn and appreciative of our efforts. I found it remarkable that girl students remove the veil from their faces while speaking to us as a mark of respect,” said Father Pattery.

Source:  Jesuits boost for Afghan students

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