Providing Educational Opportunities for Afghan Girls
Summary
In 2024, US University Pathways (USUP) committed to partner with Girls College in Afghanistan to leverage USUP’s virtual, accredited education platform Forward International Academy (FIA) to provide opportunities for 350 Afghan girls to obtain U.S. high school diplomas. By reinvesting profit from FIA’s full fee paying international students from wealthier countries into this initiative, USUP will provide scholarships for 140 of those Afghan students and develop partnerships to fund scholarships for the additional 210 girls by the end of 2026. They will also provide direct training to four teachers at Girls College to successfully deliver the online curriculum in the following subjects: math, science, English, and social studies. At the conclusion of this commitment, USUP aims to scale this model of leveraging FIA to create locally adaptable U.S. education delivery programs in other hard-to-reach conflict zones.
Approach
US University Pathways (USUP) has committed to supporting 350 students from Girls College in Afghanistan to obtain U.S. high school diplomas through their online education platform Forward International Academy (FIA) by December 2026. USUP will then aim to scale the curriculum and program delivery to students in other conflict zones beyond Afghanistan.
USUP, an organization based in Madison, WI, was launched in 2016 to help equip future generations of international students with English proficiency and intercultural competency to thrive in US university settings. Since their founding, USUP has been providing opportunities for talented international students to access K-12 curriculum, historically operating three international high schools in China, Portugal, and Ukraine, that enrolled over 100 students. This year USUP launched FIA to expand their reach. FIA is an online 6-12 school to help international students earn American high school diplomas. Given the recent launch of FIA, and USUP’s track record of supporting students on their educational journeys and making quality education more accessible to students around the world, they are uniquely positioned to respond to the needs of Girls College and strategically partner through this Commitment to Action to make US high education more accessible to Afghan girls.
FIA’s tuition per student per year is $2,750, and by the end of 2026, USSP will generate partnerships to fund 210 scholarships and personally cover the costs of 140 of the 350 total scholarships being provided to Girls College students through revenue generated from other fee-paying students in different regions. By providing scholarships and the FIA platform through which Girls College students can earn an American high school diploma, USUP is creating a pathway to universities in the US and other English-speaking countries for these students in Afghanistan. The Girls College currently has local teachers, reliable internet, and laptops to support student learning, and USUP will provide curriculum and professional development resources for teacher training, specifically training four teachers to support the students attending FIA virtually. USUP will continue to work with Girls College and partner universities to develop ongoing resources and support for students after they graduate from FIA.
Action Plan
Q4 2024 (October – December 2024) : USUP will sponsor 15 Afghan high school girls to begin their studies at FIA (who will be providing online schooling using the USUP curriculum) and develop a local teacher training program at the Girls College to equip local educators with the skills needed to support students effectively at the local school level.
Q1 2025 (January – March 2025) : USUP will secure the funding to offer an additional 35 full scholarships for Afghan girls to enroll at Forward International Academy.
Q2, Q3, Q4 2025 (April – December 2025) : During this period, USUP, will provide its online curriculum to an additional 100 Afghan high school girls at Girls College, while also using revenue from other paid students to provide fully-funded scholarships for 30 of those 100 students to attend FIA. USUP will also work to secure partners willing to fund an additional 70 scholarships to have the remaining students also attend FIA, beyond simply guaranteeing their access to USUP online curriculum.
Q1, Q2 (January – June 2026) : In the first two quarters of 2026, USUP will double its impact, personally funding 60 scholarships for Afghan high school girls and securing additional resources from partners to support 140 full scholarships, impacting 200 students collectively.
Q3, Q4 2026 (July – December 2026) : In the second half of 2026, USUP will extend their educational model to other conflict-affected regions, developing partnerships and adapting educational resources to meet specific local needs so other students can access their US high school curriculum.
Background
In Afghanistan, girls face significant barriers to accessing education. The political environment limits educational opportunities for young women, restricting their ability to pursue academic and professional goals. Additionally, Afghanistan faces significant economic challenges, with 90% of the population living below the poverty line.
While some organizations like Girls College, which has a physical school branch in three different provinces in Afghanistan, offer opportunities to connect students from Afghanistan with educators and universities around the world, many of these students struggle to afford the educational opportunities Girls College can develop. They have to pay a fee to attend Girls’ College (the equivalent of $120 a year or $10 a month) , but anything beyond this is often entirely out of reach for the students. Thus, Girls College is focused on securing international high school scholarships for its students to address the social and economic barriers to education that girls face across Afghanistan. In early 2024, Girls College approached US University Pathways about opportunities to provide Girls College students with scholarships to access accredited U.S. high school education.
Progress Update
Partnership Opportunities
US University Pathways is primarily seeking financial resources to fund scholarships for Girls College students to attend Forward International Academy’s online high school. While US University Pathways has committed to providing 140 scholarships for students over the two year period of this commitment, they are seeking funding partners to support an additional 210 scholarships in response to the significant demand from girls in Afghanistan seeking these educational opportunities., For eight years, US University Pathways has been supporting international students through specialized English curriculum and cultural competency training to position international students for success at US-based universities. Since the launch of their online, accredited high school Forward International Academy, they have been able to provide international students with opportunities to obtain American high school diplomas at a relatively low cost, while still providing access to USUP’s unique curriculum that positions students for success in further advanced studies. They are thus a trusted implementing partner for anyone looking to help expand access to quality education for students around the world.