Wednesday 09 April 2003 Afghan's first computer specialists  | The first computer specialists trained in Afghanistan have graduated from Kabul University. Their course was launched last October by the United Nations' Development Programme and a computer systems company. This report from Catherine Davis: |
 Listen to the story The contrast could hardly be greater, state of the art technology in a university where most classrooms are spartan and patched up. In one room though, stand rows of brand new computers. This is the future Afghanistan. It's what those present at the graduation ceremony are dreaming of.
In his speech, the communications minister said the country had missed developments in information technology because of two decades of civil war. It had to catch up quickly. The graduation of Afghanistan's first home-grown computer specialists was, he said, a small, but very important step.
Six women are among the graduates. They're keen to make their contribution to the reconstruction of the country. My goal, said one, is to share this knowledge with other Afghans, especially Afghan women.
While there is concern over what Afghanistan has missed, the UN said the country was in fact in a unique position. It could leapfrog straight to the information technology of today.
Catherine Davis, BBC News, Kabul. Listen to the words state of the art technology modern and up to date computer equipment spartan a few items of furniture and little decoration patched up badly repaired graduation ceremony an event that marks the successful completion of a university course catch up to spend time doing something you have not given enough time to in the past home grown computer specialists computer experts who received training in their own country reconstruction the process of making a country normal again after a war goal something that you hope to achieve unique position an unusual and special situation leapfrog leapfrog is a children’s game in which one group of children bend over and others jump over their backs. It is used idiomatically here to mean making rapid progress in the area of computer technology  Read more about this story | |  | | | SEARCH IN LEARNING ENGLISH | | | |
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