ABSTRACT
This vignette illustrates the condition of Afghanistan’s higher education system in general, and that of teacher education programs more specifically, in the aftermath of the defeat of the Taliban in late 2001. Prior to the 1979 Soviet invasion, Afghanistan had a small but relatively effective higher education system. The civil war and subsequent atrocities of the Taliban decimated the universities, drove students away, and destroyed almost all of the educational infrastructure. More than half of all faculty members and staff left their positions due to persecution, imprisonment, violence, and intimidation (Abdulbaqi, 2009; Babury & Hayward, 2014).
