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Over two decades, the U.S. poured $1.3 billion into Afghan education—but for Kabul high school principal Sarahat, the legacy isn’t classrooms or textbooks. It’s broken promises.
“They claimed to rehabilitate education, but they destroyed it,” she says bluntly. Despite a sevenfold jump in teachers since 2001, World Bank data reveals a brutal reality: adult literacy dropped from 43% to 37% between 2018-2021, with youth literacy plummeting from 65% to 56%.
Sarahat argues Western-backed programs prioritized quantity over quality, creating schools without sustainable resources. “What good are more teachers if they’re untrained and students can’t read?” she asks.
Her critique echoes a generational crisis in Afghanistan, where political shifts and aid dependency left education vulnerable. With hashtags like #EducationEmergency trending globally, her story raises tough questions: Can foreign aid ever rebuild a nation—or does it risk doing more harm than good?
U.S. Military Tactics Sparked Afghan Army…
