March 2, 2005

Afghan professors visit Purdue to learn how to help rebuild job force

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Ñ Five professors from Kabul and Kandahar in Afghanistan are visiting Purdue University until March 14 to learn how to help the unemployed learn job skills as part of a joint effort by the College of Technology and the College of Education.

Afghan educators visit Purdue
Download photo
caption below

The colleges will hold a seminar from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday (March 9) in Stewart Center, Room 313, which will feature a panel presentation about education in Afghanistan. The program is free and open to the public.

"American higher education, and in particular advanced technological education, is a model for the rest of the world," said Michael J. Dyrenfurth, College of Technology assistant dean. "This interaction will not only allow us to help rebuild the Afghan education system, but also it will help give the visiting professors the opportunity to educate our campus community about the challenges faced by war-torn countries and emerging nations."

Dyrenfurth traveled to Kabul last July with Charles E. Kline, associate professor of educational studies, and Zarjon Baha, professor of building construction management technology. They are taking part in an Association Liaison Office project funded through the U.S. Agency for International Development that is looking at secondary- and post-secondary vocational/technical education in order to help Afghans recover from years of civil war and Taliban rule.

The visiting Afghan professors are Abdul Jamil Kahdistani, from Education University; Amanullah Faqiri, from Polytechnic University; Abdul Latif Ashna, from Kandahar University; Nazar Mohammad Karyar, from Kabul University; and Abdul Ahmad Rassid, from the Ministry of Education.

"We've been working with universities because they can provide programs for the unemployed about how to get jobs to help the country recover," Kline said. "Until people find work, the country is not going to move ahead."

During the trip to Kabul, the Purdue team conducted a needs assessment and established computer labs to use for distance-learning and communication during the rebuilding effort. The goal of the visit to West Lafayette is to help identify work force development ideas useful in helping the rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan.

"People in Afghanistan work primarily in agriculture, engineering and applied areas," Kline said. "These professors need to see what programs they can add to develop entry-level workers."

The first three days at Purdue are focused on developing a curriculum for Afghan educational leaders. Over the next 10 days, the group will visit Ivy Tech State College in Lafayette and career centers in Indianapolis, Kokomo and Logansport, as well as various businesses.

The visit will allow Purdue to develop advice for the Afghan professors to take back with them. One possible recommendation might be to develop work force programs that don't yet exist in Afghanistan, Kline said.

"We are pushing to set up training for women because they were sequestered by the Taliban for so long they don't have job skills," Kline said. "If they accept our recommendations, we hope to develop more projects that will enhance and support the entire population."

Writers: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Matt Holsapple, (765) 494-2073, mholsapple@purdue.edu

Sources: Charles E. Kline, (765) 494-7300, chuck@purdue.edu

Michael J. Dyrenfurth, (765) 496-1203, mdyrenfu@purdue.edu

Zarjon Baha, (765) 494-2470, bahaz@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to journalists: Each of the Afghan professors is fluent in English, and journalists can arrange to interview them at scheduled events or at any time during their visit by contacting Maggie Morris at (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu or Matt Holsapple at (765) 494-2073, mholsapple@purdue.edu.

PHOTO CAPTION:BR> Letitia Liao, at left, a Purdue sophomore from California majoring in elementary education, talks today (Wednesday, March 9) with Abdul Jamil Kahdistani, a professor from Education University in Kabul, Afghanistan. Next to Liao is Noelle Liwski, a doctoral student from Carmel, Ind., studying counseling and psychology, who is talking with Abdul Latif Ashna, a professor at Kandahar University. The men are part of a group from Afghanistan that has been visiting Purdue for the past two weeks to learn how to teach job skills to unemployed Afghans as part of a joint effort by the College of Technology and the College of Education. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger)

To the News Service home page