Schools as Zones of Peace: The Challenges of Making Afghan Schools Safe for Education

In Afghanistan, children’s access to education has improved considerably during the last decade. Yet, the general security situation in many parts of Afghanistan has been steadily deteriorating, with increased threats and attacks against schools, teachers, and students.

The purpose of this study is to examine i) the nature and perceived impact of attacks on education; ii) local coping mechanisms used to mitigate the attacks and threats that schools, school staff, and students in Afghanistan face; iii) opportunities for strengthening and scaling up a ‘Schools as Zones of Peace’ (SZOP) pilot programme implemented in Faryab and Nangarhar provinces.

This report – commissioned by Save the Children International in Afghanistan as part of a small SZOP pilot programme – draws on qualitative research conducted in 26 schools in ten districts in the provinces of Faryab, Nangarhar and Uruzgan.