Policy Options to Finance Public Higher Education in Afghanistan

260 Pages·2014·0.9 MB·English

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Open Access Dissertations
9-2009
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Frank McNernery
University of Massachusetts Amherst
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McNernery, Frank, "Policy Options to Finance Public Higher Education in Afghanistan" (2009). Open
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POLICY OPTIONS TO FINANCE PUBLIC

HIGHER EDUCATION IN AFGHANISTAN

A Dissertation Presented
By
FRANK MCNERNEY

Submitted to the Graduate School of the
University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
September 2009
Education
© Copyright by Frank McNerney 2009
All Rights Reserved
POLICY OPTIONS TO FINANCE PUBLIC
HIGHER EDUCATION IN AFGHANISTAN

A Dissertation Presented
By
FRANK MCNERNEY

Approved as to style and content by:

______________________________________________
Alfred S. Hartwell, Chair

______________________________________________
Joseph B. Berger, Member

______________________________________________
David Evans, Member

______________________________________________
John Hird, Member

___________________________________
Christine B. McCormick, Dean
School of Education
DEDICATION
To my wife Yijie Zhao, and my children, Tara and Eric
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank many friends at CIE and also in higher education in
Afghanistan for their help with this study. My Afghan associates spent generous time
from their exceedingly busy schedules to discuss the future of education in their country;
I appreciate their advice and observations. The CIE faculty members were particularly
encouraging: Ash Hartwell, my advisor, has always been an inspiration. I have always
appreciated his thoughtful comments, open mind and his considerate nature. Moreover, I
will always be indebted to Gretchen Rossman and David Evans for giving me the
opportunity to join the center.
I also want to thank my wife, Yijie Zhao, for her strong support, insights and
suggestions. She has been my motivator and my coach throughout the process.

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ABSTRACT
POLICY OPTIONS TO FINANCE PUBLIC
HIGHER EDUCATION IN AFGHANISTAN
SEPTEMBER 2009
FRANK MCNERNEY, B.A., DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
M.Ed., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
Directed by: Professor Alfred S. Hartwell
While recovering from decades of conflict and trying to adjust to an incipient free
market economy, public higher education in Afghanistan is currently confronted with
rapidly increasing enrollment and inadequate government financing. The imbalance
between high demand for and insufficient supply of higher education has led to a
decrease in the quality of education and an urgent need to develop non-state sources of
funding. Using Johnstone’s (1986) diversified funding model as the conceptual
framework, this exploratory case study reports actors’ attitudes and perceptions of the
financing policy options for Afghan public higher education and the impediments to
introduce this model in Afghanistan. Data were collected from documents and semi-
structured interviews with Afghan administrators, politicians, instructors and students
during four months in Kabul in 2008.
The findings show that: a) the state has most likely reached the maximum
financial contribution to public higher education and that little more can be expected; b)
that the existing funding for this sub-sector is not managed well; c) that the current legal
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framework does not support expansion of the entrepreneurial activities that are
developing at the higher education institutions; c) that the legal system does not provide
incentives to develop Afghan national donor support; d) that the introduction of user fees,
though currently under consideration, is confronted with significant technical
impediments, and e) that the introduction of tuition is not on the agenda because the
higher education institutions have found the introduction of “night school” as an
alternative means that allows the charging of tuition under the guise of “extra” services.
In light of the aggregated actors’ attitudes towards these funding options, this
study identifies considerable legal, technical and political blockages that hinder the
creation of a functioning diversified funding model. The findings indicate that one
significant pre-requisite for any development of these new funding sources will be
increased institutional autonomy. Without devolution in power from the centralized
ministry to the institutions, the necessary incentives and mechanisms will probably be
missing for the development of these alternative sources of funding.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………………. v
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………….. vi

LIST OF TABLES …………………………………………………………………... xi

LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………………. xii

CHAPTER

1. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………... 1

Background ……………………………………………………………… 1
Statement of the Problem ………………………………………………... 4

Current Efforts to Address the Problem ………………………..9

Research Questions ……………………………………………………… 11
The Importance of This Research………………………………………... 12
Study Overview …………………………………………………………. 13

2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND CONTEXT ……………………………... 14

Conceptual Framework ………………………………………………….. 14
Literature Review ………………………………………………………...22

Donors …………………………………………………………. 23
Entrepreneurship ………………………………………………. 29
Parents and Students (Tuition and Fees) ………………………. 35

Comparative Analysis with Other Countries………… 37
Equity Considerations………………………………... 40
Rates of Return Analysis…………………………….. 41
Factors that Limit Tuition and Fee Charges ………… 46
The Timing of Charges..…………………………..…. 52
Selected Factors Affecting Parents’ and Students’
Decision to Pay Fees and Tuition ……….................... 55

Summary ………………………………………………………. 59

Selected Contextual Factors That Constrain Policy in Afghanistan……... 60

Politics…………………………………………………………. 62
Economic Conditions ………………………………………….. 67
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Donors …………………………………………………………. 71
Bureaucratic Structures ………………………………………... 74

The Higher Education System ………………………. 75
The Structure of the Ministry of Higher Education
(MOHE) ……………………………………………... 84
The Financing Structure of Higher Education …......... 92

Increasing Demand for Higher Education …………………….. 100
Competition …………………………………………………….101
Legal Framework and Regulations ……………………………. 104
Trends …………………………………………………………. 106

Autonomy …………………………………………… 106
The Increasing Voice of Students ………………........ 109

Summary of Contextual Factors That Influence Financing
Reform Policy …………………………………………………. 111

3. DESIGN AND METHODS ………………………………………………………. 114

The Case Study Approach …………………………………………......... 114
The Study Design …………………………………………………........... 120

Limitations …………………………………………………….. 122

Methods …………………………………………………………………..124

Selection of Candidates for Interviews …………………........... 124
Categorizing Interviewees …………………………………….. 127

Interview Structure ……………………………………………………….128

4. FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS ………………………………………… 133

Does the Government Have the Resources? …………………………….. 133

Summary Discussion on Government Resources ……………... 140

Does Higher Education Need Resources? ………………………………. 140

Summary Discussion on the Need for Resources in Higher
Education …………………………………………………........ 149

Where Will the Resources Come From? ……………………………....... 153

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