Ill-spent, and still illiterate: $200M spent on Afghani literacy, but they aren't

thisnumbersdisconnected · Jan 28, 2014

Fox News: Afghan soldiers still can't read, despite $200M US-backed program, report finds

The U.S. government has committed $200 million to a program teaching Afghan soldiers to read -- but a new report shows more than half of them still may be illiterate.

The report, released Tuesday from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, detailed numerous problems with the literacy program, which dates back to 2010. Poor tracking of recruits, inconsistent instruction and other factors have left military leaders unable to say how many soldiers can actually read and write, according to the study.

"Literacy of the Afghan National Security Forces is of critical importance," Special Inspector General John F. Sopko said in a statement. "We've spent $200 million on this -- yet we don't even know how many Afghan security forces are literate or how well the program worked. That's deeply disturbing."

The program's original goal was for 100 percent of Afghan National Security Forces to achieve what's called Level 1 literacy (equivalent to first-grade proficiency), and half to attain Level 3 literacy (equivalent to third-grade proficiency).
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Officials responsible for the program told the IG that the goals are unachievable in the time left for U.S. forces to remain in Afghanistan. There was no testing, there were no uniform guidelines, and security pressures often required recruits to go into the field without having completed the course.

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Ill-spent, and still illiterate: $200M spent on Afghani literacy, but they aren't

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