Page 13 - ELG2301 Jan Issue 483

FEATURES

Department for International Development and urged them to communicate with their
(DfiD). As part of my work in Afghanistan, former teachers – all of whom were desperate Joseph Seaton has been a
I was tasked with writing the proposal for to get out. After the Taliban took full control, teacher, teacher trainer and
this programme. the airport closed and the country shut down. programme manager for many
In order to qualify for the funding, the Those teachers who had received ARAP years. From 2016-2020 he
programme had to contribute to the UK rejections reapplied. These re-applications was English Manager &
foreign policy objective of Countering were again rejected or remained unanswered. Deputy Director at British
Violent Extremism (CVE). To ensure this, we In January 2022, the BC emailed the Council Afghanistan. Since the Taliban
were instructed to include not only English teachers to advise them that they were to took power he has been running the At Risk
teaching and teacher-training strands, but await the launch of the Afghan Citizens Teachers campaign.
also a UK Values component focusing on Relocation Scheme (ACRS). The teachers
EDI. As well as this, there were specific duly waited, then all submitted their ACRS
programmes dedicated to Government and Expressions of Interest when the scheme Gazette comment
religious officials (‘English for Civil Servants’ launched in June 2022. While almost all have
and ‘English for Religious Leaders’). The EDI now been confirmed as eligible, no cases have In our invitation to the British Council
component, coupled with the Civil Servants progressed, no teachers have been relocated to respond, we specifically asked them
& Religious Leaders programmes allowed and they all continue to live in hiding. under what legal definition these teachers
us to confidently state that our programme Having trained, managed and worked were ‘contractors’ and sent a copy of the
would contribute to creating a more secure alongside these teachers, I am very disappointed 2007 Afghan Labour Code. They did not
and stable Afghanistan. to see how they have been treated by Britain. address the matter.
DfID were happy that the programme As highly competent teachers, passionate The term contractor is not mentioned in
would contribute to CVE and so gave us the about their work and the development of their the ARAP criteria, though the terms ‘locally
£4.5 million. This is important, because the country, they really deserved better. They are employed staff’ and ‘directly paid’ are.
teachers left behind were the very people who at risk as a direct result of what we recruited There appears to be no question that
delivered these programmes on the ground. them to do for us, yet so far we have failed to the teachers were indeed directly paid,
They were the publicly recognisable people ensure their safety. but were they employed? Under which
working in the community and delivering There has been progress since 2021. legal system should the status of employee
modules on EDI to a wary and conservative Back then teachers were routinely rejected be decided? In this case it would be the
Afghan population. Programmes which for ARAP. They have almost all now been Afghan Labour Code.
contribute to a more secure and stable confirmed as eligible for ACRS, but the So the term employee in the ARAP
Afghanistan sound great, but in my opinion to dangerous wait goes on. So far, Rishi Sunak’s guidance should cover anyone who, under
then fail to protect the people who delivered Government has failed to take action. I started Afghan law, is an employee and not a
these programmes sends a very poor message. the At Risk Teachers campaign in 2021, in contractor. The Dari term translated as
I first started to hear from former colleagues an effort to maintain public awareness contractor has several meanings. In the
in mid-2021. Although I had worked at the and keep the issue in the minds of the BC, 1999 Afghan Labour Code, for example,
BC office in Kabul for almost four years (2016- politicians and the media. I have since written contractor is defined as an employee on a
2020), I had been gone over a year and was to and tweeted three UK prime ministers, fixed-term contract.
surprised when former colleagues started to three foreign secretaries and three home Mention has also been made of the
contact me begging for help. secretaries, but at present, all the teachers teachers being employed on a ‘service
My initial response was to encourage them remain in Afghanistan. contract’. Such a contract is described in
to pursue their inquiries through the BC. I Politicians again raised the issue in the House the 2007 Afghan Labour code as ‘a written
felt sure they would assist their teachers of Commons on 12th December 2022 and the agreement entered into by the employee
in getting fair treatment. However, In teachers continue to hope that the Government and the employer”. It also applies to
early August 2021, I was told that the UK chooses to be accountable in the near future. employees, specifically including teachers,
Government had decided to exclude all Right now, the former BC teachers endure working on fixed-term rolling contracts
contractors from the ARAP scheme and this another harsh Afghan winter as they hide out. and gives them the same legal rights as
included the teachers. The irony remains that they were tasked with other staff.
As the country unravelled, I started to teaching inclusion, then were excluded from a Under Article 7, the same law states
collaborate with the BC more, providing lists relocation scheme they all met the criteria for. ‘Persons working in international and
of former teachers (as they did not have these) Let’s hope they get fair treatment soon. foreign organizations in Afghanistan have
to obey the provisions of this law’.
Even under English law, the term
British Council response contractor does not seem to apply. Since
2017, public bodies in the UK can no
When the ARAP scheme first opened in April 2021, the UK Government only considered longer claim as a contractor anyone who:
applications from British Council employees. This category included our office staff, but not  has to carry out the work themselves
our contractors (which included our teachers). and cannot send a substitute;
In August 2021, the UK Government extended the criteria of the scheme, which meant  is paid by time and not project;
our contractors became eligible.  is closely supervised by the body’s own
We contacted our contractors at this point, including the teachers, and encouraged them staff;
to urgently apply. We maintained regular contact and provided detailed information, support  is provided with equipment by that
and updates throughout this time on the application process, including contacting the body and/or works at their premises;
Foreign Commonwealth and Diplomatic Office and the Ministry of Defence.  does not have their own business
We provided comprehensive lists with the names of all known applicants to the ARAP identity;
scheme in August 2021, including the names of these teachers, and provided the regular  cannot decide how and when to work.
updates to those lists thereafter.
We set up and staffed a dedicated inbox, which we’ve maintained since, expressly to The Gazette again invites the British Council
maintain contact with contractors. Numerous former contractors communicated how to explain the legal grounds on which their
valuable our communications were. teachers are considered contractors.

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