American University of Afghanistan Closed Up As Taliban Takes Over

The “life changing” American University of Afghanistan opened its doors in 2006 but was captured by the Taliban as it took over the country, and finally the capital city of Kabul, last week.

The world watched as 20 years of progress and rights for women and members of minority groups were rolled back.

The American University of Afghanistan, the country’s first private, not-for-profit institution of higher education, gave out undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees.

It was established with a $94.8 million grant from U.S. Agency for International Development.

In 2010, when the university hired a new president, Akram Fazel, chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees, said, “When you go back to the history of Afghanistan and analyze what really went wrong, for almost 300 years, it was totally isolated from the rest of world. We hope this institution becomes a bridging factor to the outside world.”

And it was for some time. It started with about 50 students and ballooned to around 1,700, producing 29 Fulbright Scholars and partnering with prestigious universities, including Stanford University, University of Chicago Pearson Institute, University of Maryland, Georgetown University, and the University of California.

But with the Taliban takeover, the university’s entire internet presence appears to have been wiped out, including its website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

Days before the Afghan government collapsed, Leslie Schweitzer, a member of AUAF’s Board of Trustees and president of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization Friends of the American University of Afghanistan, said the university was trying to set up partnerships with other universities in the region so students could study remotely, Inside Higher Ed reported.

It’s unclear how far that effort got before Kabul, and with it the university, fell into Taliban hands.

Learn more:
OpenTheBooks Oversight Report, U.S. Foreign Aid
Forbes, 10 U.S. Investments In Afghanistan That Didn’t Pan Out

The #WasteOfTheDay is presented by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.