Karzai studied here, so have Afghanistan’s Who’s Who. The Taliban reduced Habibia to a bullet-ridden shell. Today, 16000 students troop in every day to sit down in tents. That changes tomorrow when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hands over the school—rebuilt and equipped by Indian engineers
Tomorrow, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hands over the Habibia school to Afghan officials, he would have put the India stamp on a precious piece of history long forgotten in the years of violence which have marked Afghanistan’s recent past. Standing next to him will be Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Habibia’s best known old boy.
India has spent $5.1 million in renovating the school—the oldest and the biggest in this country—and is also going to send its teachers for training to India besides providing computers and other equipment. ‘‘I tell you, every Afghan who crosses this building says a prayer for India. There could have been nothing better for Afghanistan at a time when we our working so hard to spread education here,’’ says Habibia principal Syed Naasir Askarzada.
The school is over a century old. It traces its history back to 1903 when Habibullah, the then King of Afghanistan, wanted his son Amanullah to get the best of modern education without venturing out of Kabul.
The school was set up and one of its first principals was an Indian. The current King and ‘‘father of the Nation’’ Zahir Shah is also a student of this school. The list of alumni includes some of the most powerful men in Kabul today.
‘‘More than 50 per cent people who are ministers in the government today have graduated from here,’’ says Askarzada.
All of that began to unravel when in the early 1990s, the school became a shelter for one of seven mujahideen outfits, all locked in incessant fighting. In fact, Indian engineers involved in the renovation of the school have found countless bullets and shells as testaments to that recent past.
Even during those years, Askarzada stayed as the principal until another band of students, this time the Taliban, showed up. They fired him. A liberal-minded Physics teacher, Askarzada had no place in what was to follow.
The Taliban did away with the teaching of science subjects and introduced their own syllabus. ‘‘Now all science subjects are taught here along with four languages including English,’’ says Askarzada. ‘‘We have over 16000 students today but they all study in tents now.’’
That will soon change given that the school has been completely renovated by CPWD engineers who have toiled hard over the past 18 months to put it back in shape. India will also be equipping laboratories in the days ahead to aid the teaching of science in the school.
There are 64 classrooms and New Delhi has committed to providing furniture and other accessories to get the school to start functioning again. While some of the furniture is coming by air, the bulk is still to arrive. That’s because it’s being sent through a circuitous route via Iran as Pakistan does not allow transit.
‘‘It is difficult to renovate than build a new structure. We faced a lot of difficulties also because the labour here is not skilled. Their output is half of that of Indian labourers. But we ensured that the best work possible is done here. There are marble panels and 24-hour power back-up,’’ says CPWD engineer A K Agrawal.
Buoyed by the success of this effort,
Askarzada hopes to have a couple of minutes with the Prime Minister, who
he has heard has also been a teacher, and present him a wish list. ‘‘We
need 45 more classrooms for the primary school, one swimming pool, one
creche because 60 teachers are women and a sitting area around the football
field which India has helped make.’’