by JOSH BOAK
KABUL – Already coping with war, poverty and corruption, Afghan colleges are struggling under a policy that forbids them from charging tuition.
The law also restricts public universities from having endowments, leaving the schools dependent on an Afghan government and U.S.-led coalition largely focused on confronting the Taliban.
“Security is a priority,” said A. Quadir Amiryar, senior adviser to the Ministry of Higher Education. “Higher education is a luxury, given the configuration of the government.”
With limited funds, the universities cannot graduate the needed supply of civil servants and engineers who can keep new roads paved and power plants humming, said Afghan officials, academics and development experts. All 22 public universities and education institutes operated on a combined $35 million last year, which represents about 1.5 percent of the Afghan government’s core budget.
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