Mr. Dugdaleasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the reason for the delay in acceding to the request of the Afghan Government for the British Council to send four people to Kabul to teach English.
§ Mr. Ian HarveyThere have been since 1947 two British teachers of English at Ghazi College, Kabul, whose appointments have been recommended to the Afghan Ministry of Education by the British Council. The emoluments of each teacher have been subsidised by the Council to the extent of £2,000 a year.
The Afghan Ministry of Education asked the Council to recruit two more British teachers, but, in view of the need for a subsidy, the Council was then unable for financial reasons to accede to this request. As a result of the Review of the Government's Overseas Information Services in July, 1957 (Command 225), funds were made available which enabled the Council to subsidise one additional teacher's post in Afghanistan from 1st January, 1958, with the possibility that further funds might be available for a fourth post from 1st April, 1958. Authority for the latter subsidy also has been obtained.
In September, 1957, the Afghan Government were informed that the Council would subsidise one extra post, and were asked to confirm that two additional 98W teachers were still required. This confirmation was received on 18th December, 1957. Advertisements appeared in the Press in January. Consideration of applications is now completed and it is expected that recommendations for filling the two posts will be made to the Royal Afghan Embassy very shortly.
The Council has recently recruited a teacher as a replacement for one of the teachers already serving in Afghanistan and he left the United Kingdom on 1st March to take up his appointment.