Afghan-Turk School Students Shine Abroad

International Mazar-i Sharif Afghan Turk High School
International Mazar-i Sharif Afghan Turk High School


Date posted: November 18, 2005

By Mohammad Jawad – Afghanistan

Four Afghan students win top prizes in international competition and change some minds in the process. The students did more than merely stun their competitors when they came away with some of the top prizes at an international mathematics competition held recently in Almaty, Kazakhstan. They also changed how students from 22 other countries perceive Afghanistan.

Ahmad Mustafa Naseri and Mustafa Naseri, both 17 (and unrelated), students at the Turkish-run Afghan-Turk School in Kabul, won gold medals while Omid Sadiqyar and Mohammad Rafi Firoz, also 17 and students at a similar school in the northern Shiberghan province, were awarded silver medals following a day-long algebra competition in May.

Ahmad Mustafa said that while he was proud of his gold medal, he was saddened to discover that students from other countries thought of Afghanistan only as the home of terrorism, drugs production and internecine conflict.

“One competitor from Australia told me, ‘I was very surprised that Afghans were taking part in this competition – we always hear that Afghanistan is a major drug producer and a country for terrorists who are always fighting one another,’ ” said Ahmad Mustafa.

But now, Ahmad Mustafa said, the Australian promised to return home and talk of the talented and brave Afghans he had met.

Mustafa Naseri smiled as he recalled the moment he heard he had won gold.

“Even though the other participants were happy that there were Afghan students in the competition, they never thought that we would get such positions. They were all left wondering after the results were announced and the Afghans were awarded two gold and two silver medals,” he said.

Maths teacher Hilmi Engoren, who started teaching at the high school two years ago and accompanied the students to Kazakhstan, praised the boys, adding, “Afghan students are talented – I am sure that if the way is paved for them, they will be successful in any field.”

The Afghan-Turk schools, supported by a Turkish non-governmental organisation, were first established in 1995 but were quickly attacked by the then-ruling Taleban regime, which accused them of spreading Turkish propaganda.

Today, there are 35 teachers, including 18 from Turkey, for the 500 students at the Kabul school. According to Abdul Fatah Sabar, deputy director at the school, the teaching system is more concentrated than others in the country, with students attending classes 46 hours a week, compared with the 36 hours normal at Afghan schools.

The schools only accept male students. “These schools were established during the Taleban regime and girls were not allowed to go to school at that time,” said Sabar. “So only boys are still educated here.”

Mustafa’s father, Abdul Wasay Naseri, is full of praise for his son’s school. “If my son didn’t go to the Afghan-Turk School, his talents would be wasted like those of thousands of other Afghan youths,” he said.

Mohammad Sediq Patman, a deputy education minister, said that if Afghanistan had the means to educate its children, “I am sure they would amaze the world in different fields.

“Unfortunately we don’t have enough schools or teachers and we are not on top of things in the regions; we can’t dismiss any teachers in the provinces. Most of the teachers who were appointed during the war era [in the Nineties] don’t have diplomas.”

Winning the math award was almost too much for Mustafa Naseri. “When I was given the gold medal, my heart began beating so fast I thought I had a heart disease,” he said.

Mohammad Jawad Sharifzada is an IWPR staff reporter in Kabul.

Source: Institute for War & Peace Reporting 17 Nov 2005

 


Related News

Turkish schools in Romania celebrate 20th year

Schools established by Turkish entrepreneurs in Romania celebrated their 20th year during the finale of the Turkish Olympiads in Bucharest on Wednesday.

Erdoğan’s Crackdown Takes A Toll On Exchange Students In Turkey

Turkey’s relentless crackdown on government critics and opponents has caught up with foreign exchange students, disrupting their years of studies and even landing some in unlawful detentions in Turkish jails.

Pakistan – Turkish teachers, students not to be deported, court told

The federal government Wednesday told the Lahore High Court that Turkish national teachers and students of PakTurk International Schools would not be deported.

Turkish schools in Romania awarded with certificate of excellence

Turkish schools which have been operating in Romania for 20 years, were awarded with a certificate of excellence by Romanian Education Minister Remus Pricopie. A reception was held at Bucharest Crowne Plaza on Wednesday evening on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the schools, established by Lumina Education Institute.

Tentacles of Turkey’s growing autocracy reach Thailand

“After the 2010 election, Erdogan and the AKP failed to politicise the Gulen movement, a civilian Islamic phenomenon,” Erdem says. Power-hungry forces within the AKP reached out to Gulen, intent on tapping this source of mass political support. When the tactic failed, Gulen supporters came to be seen as enemies of the state.

Nigeria wants more Turkish schools to increase quality of education

Dr. Mac-John Nwaobiala, the permanent secretary of the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Education, said on Sunday more Turkish schools must be opened in Nigeria to increase the quality of education.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Standing by the Education Rights of Schoolgirls

Turkish deputy PM says Fethullah Gülen is supra-political, conscience of 75 million people in Turkey

Defamation- Pro-Erdoğan daily claims Gülen movement converted 500,000 to Christianity in Kazakhstan

Fethullah Gülen calls for ‘bridges of peace’ in Eid al-Fitr remarks

33rd Abant Platform: whither Turkey?

Islam, terrorism and the media

Police raid successful Gülen-inspired schools, kindergarten in eastern Turkey

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News