Lycée Esteqlal
Encyclopedia
The Lycée Esteqlal is a Franco
-Afghan
school in Kabul
, Afghanistan
. It is the second oldest school (after Habibia High School
) in Kabul, and was recognized as one of the prestigious schools in the country.
Lycée Esteqlal is a public school, administered by the Afghan Ministry of Education, and is currently under the contract of AEFE
, an educational agency of the French Foreign Ministry
. The French Cultural Center (CCF) is also located inside the Lycée Esteqlal compound.
in 1922 as Amaniya School, it was renamed in 1931 to Lycée Esteqlal (meaning "independence" in Persian). In 1968, French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou
laid the first brick of modern buildings, and the new site was inaugurated in 1974. The curriculum was entirely in the French language
until 1985 when diplomatic relations between France and Afghanistan were suspended under the communist regime. Since 2002, only a few subjects, such as French language, mathematics
and physics
, are taught in French, and the rest in Persian
.
Until 1985, Lycée Esteqlal did not only receive Afghan students, but also several French nationals who were related to the French Embassy's diplomatic staff. Lycée Esteqlal along with Lycée Malalaï, which is the other Franco-Afghan school for girls in Kabul, were rebuilt and reopened at the beginning of 2003, and currently they are under the contract of Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger
.
King Amanullah, who was progressive and modern-minded, also oversaw the opening of the first girls school, Masturat, in 1921. Masturat was closed between 1928 and 1932, then reopened in 1932 through the efforts of the new King Nadir Shah
and became a girls secondary school in 1939, led by a French teacher. Seven hours a week of French
was taught from the primary year upwards. In 1942, the school moved to a new building and took the name of Lycée Malalai
, from the name of a famous Afghan woman who fought in the resistance against the invading English in 1880 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War
.
in Lycée Esteqlal.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-Afghan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
school in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. It is the second oldest school (after Habibia High School
Habibia High School
Habibia High School is a school in Kabul, Afghanistan, which has educated many of the former and current Afghan elite, including President Hamid Karzai and the country's most famous musician Ahmad Zahir. It was founded by King Habibullah Khan in 1903....
) in Kabul, and was recognized as one of the prestigious schools in the country.
Lycée Esteqlal is a public school, administered by the Afghan Ministry of Education, and is currently under the contract of AEFE
Agence pour l'Enseignement Français à l'Etranger
The Agency for French Teaching Abroad, , is a national public agency under the administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France that assures the quality of schools teaching the French national curriculum outside of France...
, an educational agency of the French Foreign Ministry
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ), is France's foreign affairs ministry, with the headquarters located on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris close to the National Assembly of France. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the government of France is the cabinet minister responsible for...
. The French Cultural Center (CCF) is also located inside the Lycée Esteqlal compound.
Further information
Created under the impulse of King AmanullahAmanullah Khan
Amanullah Khan was the King of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Amir and after 1926 as Shah. He led Afghanistan to independence over its foreign affairs from the United Kingdom, and his rule was marked by dramatic political and social change...
in 1922 as Amaniya School, it was renamed in 1931 to Lycée Esteqlal (meaning "independence" in Persian). In 1968, French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
laid the first brick of modern buildings, and the new site was inaugurated in 1974. The curriculum was entirely in the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
until 1985 when diplomatic relations between France and Afghanistan were suspended under the communist regime. Since 2002, only a few subjects, such as French language, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, are taught in French, and the rest in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
.
Until 1985, Lycée Esteqlal did not only receive Afghan students, but also several French nationals who were related to the French Embassy's diplomatic staff. Lycée Esteqlal along with Lycée Malalaï, which is the other Franco-Afghan school for girls in Kabul, were rebuilt and reopened at the beginning of 2003, and currently they are under the contract of Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger
Agence pour l'Enseignement Français à l'Etranger
The Agency for French Teaching Abroad, , is a national public agency under the administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France that assures the quality of schools teaching the French national curriculum outside of France...
.
King Amanullah, who was progressive and modern-minded, also oversaw the opening of the first girls school, Masturat, in 1921. Masturat was closed between 1928 and 1932, then reopened in 1932 through the efforts of the new King Nadir Shah
Mohammed Nadir Shah
Mohammed Nadir Shah was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in 1933. Previously, he served as Minister of War, Afghan Ambassador to France, and as a general in the military of Afghanistan...
and became a girls secondary school in 1939, led by a French teacher. Seven hours a week of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
was taught from the primary year upwards. In 1942, the school moved to a new building and took the name of Lycée Malalai
Malalai Anaa
Malalai of Maiwand , also known as Malalai or Malalai Anaa is a national folk hero of Afghanistan who rallied the Pashtun army against the British troops at the 1880 Battle of Maiwand...
, from the name of a famous Afghan woman who fought in the resistance against the invading English in 1880 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War
Second Anglo-Afghan War
The Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the nation was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan. The war ended in a manner...
.
Famous alumni
Many internationally renowned Afghan personalities and figures have received part of their education or have obtained their BaccalaureateBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Lycée Esteqlal.
- Ahmad Shah Massoud, the renown Afghan anti-Soviet resistance leader, did his Secondary educationSecondary educationSecondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
in Lycée Esteqlal - Ravan A. G. FarhâdiRavan A. G. FarhâdiProfessor Abdul Ghafoor Ravan Farhâdi is a retired leading Afghan diplomat who was Afghanistan's Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 2006. Farhadi is a linguist, researcher and translator....
, the former AmbassadorAmbassadorAn ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
for AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and a renown writer, researcher and scholar in Persian literaturePersian literaturePersian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
. He has also been a professor at Sorbonne UniversitySorbonneThe Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
and at University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. - Zemaryalai TarziZemaryalai TarziDr. Zemaryalai Tarzi is an internationally renowned archaeologist from Afghanistan. Born in Kabul in 1939, Professor Tarzi completed his studies under the supervision of Professor Daniel Schlumberger, in the process of obtaining three Ph.Ds...
, an internationally renowned archaeologist, and a professor at the University of StrasbourgUniversity of StrasbourgThe University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers.... - Atiq RahimiAtiq RahimiAtiq Rahimi is a French-Afghan writer and film-maker.-Life:He was born in 1962 in Kabul to a senior public servant and attended high school in Lycée Esteqlal...
, a well-known French-Afghan writer - Amin WardakAmin WardakAmin Wardak was an Afghan mujahideen leader who fought in Wardak Province during the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s. He was educated a the Lycée Esteqlal in Kabul, before taking his B.A...
, mujahideen leader from Wardak province - Mohammad Amin Farhang, the former Minister of Commerce under President Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
- Spôjmaï Zariâb, a French-Afghan female novelist, at Lycée Malalaï
External links
- Official website of Lycée Esteqlal
- Website by the French pedagogical team for Esteqlal and Malalai schools http://www.esteqlal-malalai.org/topic/index.html
- Estiqlal High School in IslamabadIslamabadIslamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, an associated school with Lycée Esteqlal