IRE Radio Podcast | Ghost Schools

For years, the U.S. has pushed education as one of its major triumphs in Afghanistan. The government helped build schools, train teachers, issue textbooks and educate scores of girls. And for years, that legacy went relatively unchecked. But when Azmat Khan of BuzzFeed News began questioning the numbers and visiting schools in the region this year, she found a very different reality. On this episode, Azmat walks us through her reporting into Afghanistan’s "ghost schools."

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EPISODE NOTES

Looking for links to the stories, resources and events we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you. 

• Read Azmat Khan’s BuzzFeed News investigation, "Ghost Students, Ghost Teachers, Ghost Schools."
• Members only: Listen to Azmat Khan discuss investigations that focus on forgotten victims as part of a panel at the 2014 IRE Conference in San Francisco.
• Members only: Listen to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction discuss how to find fraud in government programs. This audio is from the 2015 IRE Conference in Philadelphia.

CREDITS

Shawn Shinneman wrote and reported this episode. IRE Web Editor Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast.

Music in this episode is by Podington Bear and Blear Moon.