OTTAWA - Canada's role will shift from the war room to the classroom after troops leave Afghanistan next year.
A decade-long involvement in Afghanistan will last up to another 10 years as Canada oversees the training of Afghan teachers.
The Canadian International Development Agency is seeking firms to help Afghanistan certify its teachers and the schools that prepare them.
Contained in the recent call for proposals are hints at how Canada's function in Afghanistan will change after its soldiers come home in 2011.
Chalkboards and classrooms and curricula will replace the bombs and bullets and bloodshed of Kandahar province, where the bulk of Canada's 2,800 troops are based.
"The project intends to provide Canadian value-added that will foster a long-term institutional partnership with the (ministry of education) teacher-training institutions and other appropriate partners in Afghanistan," a CIDA contract document says.
The teacher-training contract is worth as much as $10 million over 10 years.
CIDA will pay the winning firm up to $1 million to design the program, but the work and pay can be extended if the federal government decides to go ahead with the project.
"It is envisioned that the actual project activities will be about three to five years," the document says.
"However, the relationships established by the project should continue beyond this as a long-term partnership supported by the project for up to 10 years."
That means teacher training will likely continue after the last Canadian soldier leaves Kandahar. Parliament voted to end Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan next year.
The CIDA job includes helping the Afghan government set up a federal department for teacher education, designing a curriculum and accrediting teacher training schools and faculty members.
The winning firm will also look into how feasible it would be to set up a distance-education program. Such a program would allow students to take lessons from instructors who are in different parts of the country or the world.
CIDA hopes having more skilled and certified teachers will bring more Afghan students into the country's classrooms.
"Indirectly, the improved quality of education will likely contribute to greater access to education for boys and girls and increased primary completion percentage and secondary school enrolment," the contract document says.
A spokesman for the development agency said the company that wins the bid will run the program under CIDA's watch.
"So that is basically managing the contract, ensuring that all reporting requirements are met," Lawrence Peck said in an interview.
"Also a monitoring and evaluation and auditing role as well to ensure that Canadian taxpayers' money is well spent, obviously. That can be through our staff at headquarters or staff in the field."
Education is one of the Canadian government's so-called signature projects in Afghanistan.
The federal government plans to spend up to $12 million over three years to build, expand or repair 50 schools in Kandahar province. The money will also help the country's education ministry do its work.
The $10-million cost of the new teacher-training program will come out of CIDA money already set aside for Afghanistan.
The Afghan mission has claimed the lives of 142 Canadian soldiers and two civilians since 2002.
