Kandahar University
 | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | 1990 [1] |
| Chancellor | Professor Hazrat Mir Totakhil |
| Vice-Chancellor | Abdul Rahim Farahi |
| Location | , |
Kandahar University (Template:Lang-ps / Dari د کندهار پوهنتون) is a government funded higher learning institution in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It is one of two universities in southern Afghanistan. Kandahar University (KU) was established in 1990, at a time when the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was in power under President Mohammad Najibullah. Dr. Tooryalai Wesa, who returned to the country after 13 years and is the current governor of Kandahar province, was the first Chancellor of Kandahar University. It is believed that he will help in the development and progress of the university.
Kandahar University provides areas of study in Agriculture, Medicine, Engineering and Education. The university has future plans to launch faculties in the fields of Economy, Computer Science and Islamic Studies. The institution currently has an enrollment of 1,124+ students with a dominant number of male students. Females represent five per cent of the student body.[2] KU enrolls around 280 students each year in different majors through an entrance exam directly under control of the Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan.
Overview
Kandahar University officially started with the faculty of Agriculture in 1991. The Faculty of Medicine was also launched in 1994. Engineering was established in 2000 and faculty of Education in 2003. The University at the beginning was located at the center of Kandahar city in a campus shared with a technical school. Due to lack of classes and hostel facilities, a specific area was selected for the University in the north-west of Kandahar city. The work of constructing the new campus started during the governance of Gul Agha Sherzai who strongly supported and contributed Kandahar University in different aspects. The current Campus of the University covers an area of more than 600,000 m2. The University has 11 buildings, of which one is the Administration and Chancellor’s office, four buildings for a hostel, one for each faculty and one for the Central Library. The University also has a separate girls' hostel. There are some other structures located in the campus. The most important among them is the tomb of Allama Abdul Shakoor Rishad baba who was a well known writer, artist and poet of Afghanistan. There is also a huge mosque located beside the University for attending the Eidgah pray each year.
The Canadian government in 2008 built a three-km perimeter of stone, brick and iron around the school campus. It has been dubbed the Great Wall of Kandahar. The new wall addresses a security and other concerns hampering the school’s development.[2]
Agriculture faculty
Agriculture faculty was the first in Kandahar University. The faculty offers a 4 year agriculture program. Professor Shah Mahmood Barai is the Dean of this faculty from the beginning until now. His long term struggles and outstanding administration have achieved many goals in the progression and development of this faculty. The faculty enrolls around 80 students each year. The first two years are basic and generals about Agriculture.
The faculty has 6 departments and selection is made at third year of the course:
- Department of Agronomy
- Department of Soil Science and Irrigation
- Department of Horticulture, Jungles and Natural Resources
- Department of Plant Protection
- Department of Animal Husbandry
- Department of Agriculture economy and extension
Agriculture and animal husbandry farm
Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Farm located beside the campus was established in 2004 by joint cooperation of ARLDF and Agriculture faculty. The farm is located in an area of 22,000 m2. The farm is a good site for the practical activities of agriculture students. The farm coveres activities in the fields of: Agronomy and Soil Science, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry and Plant Protection. The farm not only trains students of relevant fields but also provides trainings to farmers so that they learn new agricultural methods and then follow the best practices.
Medical school
Medical faculty was established in 1994, second in Kandahar University after Agriculture. The university has graduated 250 students in bachelor degrees. The faculty is still in a progressive phase, but it has tremendously activated through the years of civil war in Afghanistan when the opportunities for educational institutes were very limited. The faculty has a medical library and laboratory. The students would intern in Mirwais hospital before, but the facult now has its own Hospital. The students have to attend the hospital twice a week starting from 3rd year. The final year is internship, where the students will get hands-on patient experience. The faculty of Medicine has relations with Kabul Medical Institute and Zahidan Medical College located in Zahidan of Sistan.
Civil engineering
The faculty of Civil Engineering is established in 2000 with the strong efforts of Kandahar engineers. Till now, 190 students are graduated in the field of Civil Engineering. The faculty of Civil Engineering is equipped with the modern educational equipments and standard academic methods.
Central library
Although each faculty has its own library, there is also a central library located in a 3 story building inside the university. A new building is scheduled to be built as the main library under a World Bank donation, because the current one is not designed to hold a library.
The central library is named after the well-known and famous writer of Afghanistan, Allama Habibi. The current library contains 42,000 books, most of which are in English language but some in Pashto and Dari (Persian). The library also has a study room. A computerized database is going to be made for the library to ease the access of students to the books and to solve monitoring problems. Due to a lack of rooms and shelves in the current building, most of the books are still stored in boxes. The library is working on a computerized database for the time.
IT department
The department of IT provides computer skills and internet facilities for the students of Kandahar University. This department has a computer lab which contains 40 computers plus Internet facility. Mostly the students coming to University are familiar with computers but the department provides extra skills in various software. First year students from each faculty get 2 credits a week to learn computers.
Laboratory and practice
Each faculty has its own laboratory. Agriculture has more sophisticated laboratory among other faculties. It has 3 laboratories in different fields. There is a plan of making a Central laboratory under the donation of the World Bank. The materials of this laboratory are already received and stored in the University and are only awaiting the building to be build. Medical laboratories are not allowed to open up dead bodies. But the students have practical work twice a week in Kandahar Medical faculty hospital. This hospital was recently inaugurated and came under control of the University. It was a Military hospital before. Struggles are going on to make the hospital more sophisticated and accessible for civilians. The students at last year of Medical course intern at Mirwais Hospital which is a Zonal hospital located in Kandahar city. But the students will soon start their internship program in their own University Hospital.
The students also have some educational trips to other provinces. Recently Horticulture students of Agriculture faculty had an educational trip to Jalalabad. They visited Nangarhar University, to see their laboratory and different agricultural fields and farms.
Publications
Kandahar University has a department of Publication. The University is publishing various magazines which cover different educational, social, cultural, religious, and other issues. The University currently publishes the following magazines:
- Kandahar University: The first volume was printed in 2002. Mostly covers Issues of Kandahar University and also pays attention to educational sector.
- Shena Pana (Green leaf): first printed in 2008. This is a magazine specially belongs to the faculty of Agriculture and focuses on the development of this faculty as well as agricultural activities. Publishes once in three months.
- Anar: the author of this magazine is Professor Shah Mahmood Barai, the Dean of Agriculture faculty. Covers agricultural articles which are mostly important for farmers.
- Rogh Ramat (Healthy): First volume printed in 2007 is a specific magazine of faculty of Medicine. The articles are mostly about the health issues, diseases, hygiene, and activities of medicine faculty. This magazine is under authorization of Kandahar Medical Doctors Association. Lecturers and students are actively taking part in providing different articles.
- Naranj: first volume printed in 2008 is an educational magazine printed under the authorization of Kandahar University publication department.
Hostel
Most of the students at Kandahar University are living in a hostel. The campus has both boys' and girls' hostels. However, due to security issues, girls are not willing to live on campus and instead live in the city with their relatives. 4 buildings are specified for boys' hostels. Each building consist about 44 rooms. The number of students varies from 4 to 6 per room. This is because the current buildings are not enough for total students living in the hostel. At the completion of the new campus, Gul Agha Sherzai ordered a Computer, TV, Cupboard and a Rug for each room of the hostel but this did not happen due to his transfer from Kandahar to Nangarhar province. The hostel provides free food for the students under the budget of the Ministry of Higher Education. The problem the hostel has is lack of regular electricity, although there is a power generator but not enough or not activated due to lack of fuel.
Credit system
The credit educational system was introduced in Medical and Education faculties in October 2007. Credit is an advanced educational system followed in USA, Europe and other countries around the world. A two days workshop was held by the chancellor of KU and introduced the system to around 40 lecturers of relevant faculties.
