Thirteen Universities Come Together in First Meeting

Mr. Noorullah Delawari, Professor Cheragh, and Dr. Sharif Fayez.

The Association of Afghan Universities (AAU) held its inaugural meeting on 12 August 2008, establishing a forum for discussion between participating universities.

A message from President Hamid Karzai was relayed to the audience by Mr. Zalmay Hewadmal: "This association and its members have come together to work, support, and cooperate with the Ministry of Higher Education to provide our youth with a high quality education."

The Association was founded as a cultural organization registered with the Ministry of Justice. Its primary goal is to establish a forum for discussion, coordination, and information-sharing between universities and institutions of higher education in Afghanistan.

In his speech, Dr. Sharif Fayez, later elected president of the Association, said,

"AAU will work to gather data on higher education in Afghanistan and in other countries and help the established and member universities to promote high benchmarks of quality."

The Association includes thirteen founding members, among them the American University of Afghanistan, Albiruni University, Kardan Institute of Higher Studies, and Bakhtar Institution of Higher Education.

All universities and institutions of higher education recognized by the Afghan Ministry of Higher Education are eligible to join the Association, which strives to be inclusive.

The day-long meeting, which was co-sponsored by the Capacity Development Program and Association members, was attended by Member of Parliament Muhaqiq, Chair of the Education Committee of Parliament, Ghulam Nabi Farahi, Deputy Minister of Education and Culture, Qadir Fitrat, Governor of the Central Bank, and officials from the Ministry of Higher Education.

In the afternoon proposed bylaws were voted upon, and a president was elected by members.

The elected president, Dr. Sharif Fayez, will be responsible for guiding its progress over the next year.

He said, "The union will support academic freedom for both institutions and scholars."

The coming months will see a flurry of activity as bylaws are further discussed and approved, and an action plan is drawn up to direct the Association’s activities.