Kabul University Experience Overview Graduate Fellowship 2007

Inayet Hadi, MPA - Experience overview as a Graduate Fellows at the Kabul University Institute of Public Policy and Administration with the Afghan eQuality Alliances program during the summer of 2007. Overall description of the AeQA program The Afghan eQuality Alliances (AeQA) program is a cooperative agreement between Washington State University (WSU) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The agreement is for five years (2006-2011) with USAID funding estimated at twelve million dollars and about four million dollars of cost sharing from alliance partners. The AeQA program is aimed at building alliances with public and private organizations to help achieve its primary goal of guaranteeing, “equal access to quality education and e-educational resources” (Washington State University Center to Bridge the Digital Divide (WSU CBDD, 2007a, para. 1). The AeQA program will work with 19 higher education institutions in Afghanistan to achieve its goal and implement its defined four key objectives in partnership with alliances formed through memorandum of agreements (MoA’s) . The four key objectives of the AeQA program are (1) improving skills and leadership of 19 higher education institutions to meet standards of excellence and quality assurance, (2) improve skills to sustain services for the Afghans Next Generation eLearning (ANGeL) Center for Teaching and Learning [ANGeL CTL], (3) improving skills of lecturers to upgrade their curriculum and course syllabus in key academic areas, and (4) to strengthen Kabul University and Civil Service Institute to build capacity in public policy and administration (para. 1)

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Under the forth objective, AeQA initiated and is managing the Kabul University Institute of Public Policy and Administration (KU IPPA) on behalf of the KU Deputy Chancellor for Academic Affairs, who is responsible for the IPPA project. The IPPA project, from now on known as “the Institute,” is a collaborative effort involving accredited universities from Japan, India, and the United States to send a professor each month to Kabul University to teach an intensive course. The weeklong course lasts for six days from 1pm to 6pm with the final exam being administered during the last day. Afterwards, the students are required to use the Afghan Next Generation eLearning (ANGeL) software to complete assignments online, participate in discussion forums, and videoconference with their professors living in Japan, India, or the U.S. This report details my involvement with and reflections on the Institute. Structure & Functions of the Institute? The Institute’s goal is to “foster a common commitment to public service aimed at improving the lives of all Afghans” (WSU CBDD, 2007b, para. 2). To achieve this goal requires a cadre of Afghan lecturers, trainers, and other civil servants who have the knowledge and skills developed through a mix of short and long-term professional educational programs. The following courses have already been taught at the Institute: Public Administration: Theory and Practice; Public Policy Formulation: Planning and Analysis; and Human Resources Management in the Public Sector. The second year of the program will offer concentrations in the following areas: Policy and Regulation; Development Studies; Urban, Regional, Environmental Planning; Peace Building and Conflict Resolution; and International Relations and Diplomacy. A select group of

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students enrolled in the Institute will be sent to study abroad to complete their Master program at partnering universities. A traditional hierarchically administrative structure has not been established for the Institute. There are many valid reasons as to why this has not happened. First, this is the first year of the first Master program in public policy and administration in Afghan history. As a consequence, there are no previous administrative structure models for the Institute to use. The administrative structures of the foreign universities graduate program will be studied in order localize them to Afghanistan’s experiences and realities. The second reason for not having an established administrative structure at the Institute is that Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education is currently going through administrative structural reforms, through the Priority Reform and Restructuring (PRR) process (I. R. of Afghanistan Ministry of Higher Education, 2007, 12). The final reason for the Institute not having an administrative structure is that the Institute is a collaborative effort organized by the AeQA program in partnerships with foreign accredited universities along with Afghan higher educational institutions and government institutions. Besides, the Institute’s permanent administrative structure is impractical to establish in this early stage because the Institute is built on alliances based in different countries and time zones. Based upon my conversation with the deputy chief of party and the chief of party for the AeQA program, the formal head of the Institute is Dr Saifi, the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. The management of the Institute is organized, led, and funded by the AeQA program. The student coordinator is responsible for ensuring that the Institute is in

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compliance with all KU’s policies and regulations applicable to the Institute. The student coordinator is the only full time staff dedicated to the Institute. . The Institute is the result of collaboration among foreign and national universities, AeQA, and the Afghan government’s Independent Administrative Reform Civil Service Commission (IARCSC). Kabul University (KU) has recognized the Institute, but it has not been permanently housed or staffed by national lecturers. The MPPA degree is KU’s first new Master degree program since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001. Where I fit in within the Institute structure? I was offered a Fellowship from the Afghan eQuality Alliances program to research public administration reference materials for three courses being taught at the Institute. In addition to researching reference materials, I also helped the first cohort, primarily from government and non-governmental organizations, with their research papers: providing information on the basic structure of a research paper, trained them how to use APA in-text citation, and how to create a list of references. I also discussed with the first cohort to identify their role and their organization role in overcome challenges facing Afghanistan in their research paper. I also provided assistance to the visiting professors. CRITICAL THOUGHTS Institute’s efficiency? Decision Making The New Public Management (NPM) theory promotes the use of “free market” principles in the operations of government organization. For-profit businesses usually

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make decisions that will ensure a positive cash flow, which is easily measurable. Similarly, the NPM theory encourages that decision-making in public organizations should be concerned with achieving the primary goal(s) of the organization, and implementing its defined objectives with the least amount of input per output (Rosenbloom & Kravchuck, 2005, p. 323). Generally, decision-making in public organization, according to Rosenbloom and Kravchuck (2005) is when goods and services are allocated “…in terms of matching production to consumer demand” in a timely manner (p. 323). In Afghanistan, people are demanding good governance, which is vital for democratic rule to be entrenched. The AeQA program has operationalized the Institute project under its fourth objective to help meet the demands of good governance. It is planned for the Institute to eventually become self-sustaining. Afterwards, the Institute will then be integrated into the normal budget of Kabul University. The decisions made by the collaborating parties to establish the Institute in order to address the shortcomings in public administration were thinking of the future. Foresight is a key element in making efficient decisions from the new public management perspective. Division of labor Starling (2005) defines “division of labor”, as separating the work of the organization into specialized tasks that will be performed by authorized departments (p.318). The Institute does not have specialized departments set up to implement its objectives. However, individual professor are assigned by the collaborating universities to teach a particular course at Kabul University for a one-week intensive module. The Institute is managed, guided and administered by the AeQA program. The temporary site

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and overall guidance is offered by Kabul University. However, although technically responsible for the functions of the institute, the Deputy Chancellor is not actively involved in its function. Ability of the Institute to Accomplish its Mission? There are four key objectives that have been identified for the Institute, and if successfully implemented will make the goal of the Institute a reality. The four key objectives are: (1) to prepare Afghans for leadership positions in public service and the private and nonprofit sectors (2) to research and promote effective public policy, administration and management, (3) to provide continuing education and training for civil service professionals and (4) to engage the broader community through discussion and debate on issue of public concern. The intensive course modules being taught by visiting professor will contribute to the first and second objective of helping the Afghans foster a common spirit to lead Afghan institutions. The first cohort of students enrolled in the Master of Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) program were mainly employees of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC), which is fulfilling the third objective. I did not witness the fourth objective. There are four questions that need to be answered in order to figure out if the Institute’s objectives can become self-sustaining. Can the AeQA program sustain the interests of the partnering universities/organizations including Kabul University? Are there enough qualified Afghan lecturers to teach the various courses necessary for public policy and administration graduate program? Can the Institute acquire enough financial

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support from the Afghan government, and Afghan private sources to continue to operate after the end of the AeQA program? Answers to some of the questions are provided at the end of the “Advantages and pressing issues faced by the Institute?” subheading. Answers to the above questions will determine if the Institute is accomplishing its mission. Advantages and pressing issues faced by the Institute? One of the advantages of the Institute is its ability to form alliances with a wide variety of actors currently present and not present in Afghanistan in order to accomplish its goal and to implement its key objectives. There are two pressing issues currently faced by the Institute. The first pressing issue is the lack of a building or an office to house the Institute. There has been no previous history of academic study of public policy and administration in Afghanistan at the university level. Without a physical space to house the Institute, the concepts enshrined in the study of public policy and administration will remain elusive. The second issue is the absence of key staff and lecturers independent of the AeQA program. The Institute will have difficulty becoming self-sustaining in the long term without employing national staff and lecturers to sustain the Institute. According to Rosenbloom and Kravchuck (2005) efficiency in decision-making is deploying resources to match consumer demands in a timely manner. The demand for the Institute is amazing, with over 100 applicants asking to be admitted into the program for the next semester. The resources are being deployed to meet that demand. From my conversation with the AeQA Deputy Chief of Party, they are aware of these two issues and are in the process of addressing them. First, the AeQA program will apply to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to provide funding in order to build a building

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for the Institute. Offering former students who have successfully completed the MPPA program to teach various courses part time at the Institute will solve the second issue. The office environment & morale? The courses were held at the English Resource Centre (ERC) of Kabul University. There is no permanent structure currently in place for the Institute. The visiting professors from foreign universities teach their courses at the ERC for six days from 1pm to 6pm and then leave back to their home countries. The Institute is managed and administered by the AeQA program, which operates its many projects from a one-room office with one meeting desk, which is also used by the national staff to complete their work assignments. In the same room there are three working desks that are used by the international staff. Based upon my observations and conversations, the morale of the graduate students and the visiting professors was not affected by the fact that the Institute did not have a permanent home, or that the AeQA program was managing the Institute from a one-room office. The graduate students and the visiting professors realized that the Institute was the first of its kind in Afghan history. As a result, the graduate students were excited to have the opportunity to be enrolled at the Institute. Reflections Implementation Implementing a program or a project seems simple in the briefing room according to “the complexity of joint action” perspective (Starling, 2005, p.405). But the real difficulty lies on the outside where the program is in action. The basic premise of this theory, as developed by Jeffrey L. Pressman and Aaron Wildavsky, is that because of

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many different actors involved with implementing a project or program “[c]ountless minor incidents – the kind one can seldom foresee” “…stifle—administrative efforts to secure the joint action required in program implementation” (p.405-6). The joint complexity perspective has been observed with regards to sustaining the Institute because of the many different partner involved with making the Institute a reality. Alliances Opposed to the “complexity of joint action” theory is the concept of alliances. An alliance refers to two or more actors providing and sharing resources with each other in order to accomplish a specific objective or work towards a similar goal. The Institute is being managed through cost-sharing partnerships with public and private institutions led by the AeQA program. Starling (2005), a scholar who has written extensively on managing public organizations defines partnerships as “…both sectors share risks and responsibilities in order to meet critical community needs as defined by the partners” (p. 416). The Institute is built using Global Development Alliances (GDA) concepts to share expertise and resources of different organizations to ensure that the Institute meets standards recognized internationally. Ensuring high quality standards depends upon how each partner develops and teaches their course materials. There is no one authority to ensure that quality of teaching is consistent with set standards, if there is a set standard or a single authority to judge the quality of teaching, the implementation was absent or was not witnessed by me. However, there have been two previous alliances partners meeting “…to build on the best academic traditions and innovations, content and teaching and learning process that established institutions from India, Japan and the U.S. have to offer.” In addition, the

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AeQA program is in discussion with Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) to establish a framework to accredit higher educational institutions in Afghanistan. Once an accreditation framework has been established the Institute will then go through the process of becoming accredited. The AeQA program on behalf of the KU Deputy Chancellor of Academic Affairs (KU DCoAA) manages the Institute through partnerships with accredited universities in India, Japan and the U.S. The various actors: AeQA, KU DCoAA, and partner universities have agreed to support the first Master in public policy and administration program in Afghanistan’s history through an MoA. Professors & Students I had the pleasure to assist Dr. Azizi, an Afghan economics lecturer at Okayama University, Japan. Dr. Azizi taught Public Economics in June 2007 and Public Finance and Budgeting in July 2007 at the Institute. Based upon my personal experience as a graduate student in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences Center (SPA UCDHSC), I can say without a doubt that Dr. Azizi as a lecturer was equivalent in teaching proficiency as professors in the SPA UCDHSC. Based upon my conversations with the graduate students enrolled in the Institute, the key assumption that needed to be challenged was that “foreigners will provide for us.” I challenged them to think critically why it was not sustainable for foreigners to continuously give aid to Afghanistan. One solution that came up frequently as a result of our discussion was that trade with foreigners is better then receiving conditional aid. The basis for the solution was that trade will help Afghanistan become developed and

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reconstructed on a sustainable basis. We also discussed the importance of keeping the public in mind when creating or implementing governmental policies. SUMMARY I have learned to work in an environment, where the toilets at the university are worse then the outhouses I have seen in the States. The constant threat of possible harm coming your way is a real reality. Where it is no longer considered “special” that I have a driver who takes me to and from Kabul University. Where my standard of living at a hotel is considered by the vast majority of the Afghan people as that of royalty, paying 55 dollars a day. The hotel I am staying in is comparable to a Motel 6 found in the States. I have realized that I must endure the toilets, the threats, the hotel, the personal driver, and everything else to somehow meaningfully contribute to the prosperity of Afghanistan. There are two ways that I firmly believe this can be achieved. First, creating alliances to exchange ideas and resources between American and Afghan civil society, academia, and through government partnerships. The exchange will enable both the Afghan and the American people to learn and share the best that each has to offer to the other. The relationship currently being developed between Afghan and American societies will benefit both people in the unforeseen future. For example, the American people helped out the Germans and the Japanese people after World War II, and now the Germans and the Japanese are assisting the American people to bring stability and security to Afghanistan. Hopefully, Afghans will be able to assist the American people in their time of need, as they have done for Afghanistan.

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Three students in the MPPA program out of 25 were staff members for the National Assembly. I discussed with them the challenges facing Afghanistan, and the role that Parliament can play in overcoming challenges facing Afghanistan. As a result, the second way that I can contribute to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan is to be involved with the newly established Wolisi Jirga (House of Representatives) and Meshrano Jirga (Senate). It is the through this institution, Wolisi Jirga, that Afghanistan will either succeed in creating an Afghanistan that Afghans can be proud of, or an Afghanistan that will never know peace through its own means. If I had more free time and the possibility to participate in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, I would have liked to become involved with the Wolisi Jirga and the Meshrano Jirga International Relation’s Department. I firmly believe that in order for the new Parliament to become effective in serving the Afghan people, it must engage in dialogue, exchange of ideas and resources with established legislative bodies around the world.

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Works Cited

I. R. of Afghanistan Ministry of Higher Education. (2007). Ministry of Higher Educations Strategy for Afghanistan National Development Strategy (With Focus on Prioritization) (Draft). Kabul: Author. Retrieved July 29, 2007 from Afghanistan National Development Strategy Web Site: http://www.ands.gov.af/strategies /src/Education/MoHE%20-%20English.pdf Rosenbloom, D. H., Kravchuk, R. S. (2005). Public Administration: Understanding Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector (6th ed). Boston: McGraw Hill Starling, G. (2005). Managing the Public Sector (7th ed). Australia: Thomson Wadsworth Washington State University Center to Bridge the Digital Divide. (2007a). Goals and Outcomes. Retrieved July 16, 2007, from Afghan eQuality Alliances Web Site: http://www.afghanequalityalliances.net/index.php?module= cms&action=page&id=gen12Srv35Nme0_29 Washington State University Center to Bridge the Digital Divide. (2007b). Kabul University (KU) Launches Institute of Public Policy and Administration. Retrieved July 19, 2007, from Afghan eQuality Alliances Web Site:http://www.afghanequalityalliances.net/index.php?module=cms&action= page&id=gen12Srv35Nme0_40

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