Girls’ Education Support Program

Current phase: 2008-2013
Project budget: $8.3 million

Implemented by Aga Khan Foundation Canada, the Girls’ Education Support Program (GESP) supports the enhancement of girls’ education through activities aimed at increasing access to quality learning opportunities and at promoting secure and supportive learning environments for girls.

The most important activities under the program are:

• establishing early childhood development centres;
• rehabilitating schools to ensure safe and appropriate facilities;
• accelerating learning, teacher training, and management and leadership training in schools;
• providing training to parent-teacher associations and community education committees;
• providing women's literacy classes; and
• sharing good practices and lessons learned with the Afghan Ministry of Education and other partners.

The GESP works closely with the Afghan Ministry of Education in an effort to build capacity at the provincial and national levels to replicate the GESP approaches, to develop common curricula, and to influence education policies and planning.

The GESP is expected to benefit more than 100,000 girls in more than 300 schools in the provinces of Bamyan, Baghlan, and Badakhshan.