The role of the USSR in the development of Afghanistan’s educational system from 1933 to 1978

Prior to Soviet cultural and educational co-operation, Afghanistan had an outdated education system based on a traditional approach to teaching. Interaction with the USSR modernized the programs and methods of primary, secondary and higher education in the country. Cultural and educational long-term contracts were concluded, scientific training programs were launched, and training courses were developed for Afghan youth in the Soviet Union’s higher educational institutions. This article attempts to ascertain which areas of education in Afghanistan were most strongly influenced by the Soviet state. It is emphasized that the USSR participation in the transformation of the educational system of Afghanistan consisted not only in the organization of educational institutions of various levels throughout the country, but also in the construction of infrastructure to ensure the educational process in the most problematic areas in this regard, in the creation of adapted curricula, in providing the youth of Afghanistan with the opportunity to undergo professional training in Soviet universities in order to eliminate the personnel deficit in the country; in financial support of studying youth through the payment of scholarships. Both adverse and beneficial results of co-operation between the two countries in the field of education are considered.