Sidiqullah Sahel

Volume 3 Issue 1 | Dec 2021

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.31841/KJL.2021.17

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Abstract

A successful education system enables its beneficiaries to achieve their goals and objectives and is a key indicator of the progress of a country. However, the higher education system in Afghanistan has fallen short of the above. Recently, the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) processed a Single National Curriculum (SNC) to reform higher education. The paper seeks to critically evaluate if SNC is the solution to problems in higher education and to use the curriculum adopted for Law and Political Science as a case study. In this regard, the paper is divided into two parts. Part one discusses the drawbacks of SNC and the challenges in its implementation. It is observed that SNC is against the laws and regulations in place, and guidelines issued by MOHE. Also, SNC is an attempt to take away the academic autonomy of institutions of higher education since their creativity and innovation in the curriculum are undermined, and the critical thinking capacity of students is eclipsed barring them from thinking differently. In part two of this paper, an attempt is made to examine problems in the curriculum for the Departments of Law and Political Science. By adopting a comparative approach, the Afghan curriculum is compared with that approved by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) and the University Grant Commission of India (UGC). It is found out that Political Science is treated as part of Law; subjects offered in the field are out-of-place, and the focus is on a cursory study of law, political science, international relations, and diplomacy. Resultantly, a graduate is a “jack of all trades, master of none.”

Key Words: Afghanistan, Single National Curriculum, Political Science, Law, Curriculum