UNESCO supports national NGOs to strengthen education delivery across Afghanistan

Twenty staff from education-focused non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Afghanistan have completed advanced UNESCO training in monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) equipping them to teach these skills to other education providers across the country.

The training responds to a growing challenge in Afghanistan's education sector, where many NGOs lack the technical capacity to systematically monitor performance, adapt programmes based on evidence, and meet donor accountability requirements. In response, UNESCO launched a capacity-building programme in June2025 to strengthen MEL systems within national NGOs.

The initiative is supported by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Systems Capacity Grant and implemented with technical support from the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP).

The programme began with a nine-week online course, engaging 45 participants from 38 national organizations in results-based project design, gender-responsive indicators, data collection methods and evidence-based planning. UNESCO then organized two rounds of in-person Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops in Kabul in October and November, selecting 20 top performers from the online phase. These participants were trained as master trainers and led MEL training across all regions of Afghanistan, reaching 114 staff from local education organizations.

Post-training assessments showed participants' understanding of MEL concepts increased from 65 per cent at baseline to 95 per cent following the training. Ninety-seven per cent of participants indicated their intention to apply what they learned in their work.