Education of Disadvantaged Children in OIC:
The Key to Escape from Poverty
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11% of the population aged 5 and above has some degree of functional disability (with 2.7%with
acute or total functional disability).
Non-Jordanians represent 30%of the total population. Syrians are the largest group at 1.3million,
followed by Egyptians (0.6 million), Palestinians (0.6 million), Iraqis (130,000), Yemenis, Libyans
and other nationalities (around 250,000). Of the 1.3 million Syrians hosted in Jordan, 655,833 are
registered as refugees333 of which around 141,000 (11%) live in camps, while the vast majority
live in non-camp settings in rural and urban areas.
Waves of immigration: In addition to the Palestinian refugees, the other large
immigration/refugee waves are the Iraqi (2003) and the Syrian (2011-today) ones. Many of the
Iraqi refugees were from the upper-class (doctors, businessmen, former government officials)
and brought investments with them. The cash influx supported the Jordanian economy but
boosted inflation and wage shortages, exacerbating existing inequalities. Fewer poor Iraqis
settled in Jordan for lack of financial means to emigrate334 and the ones who did are a particularly
vulnerable and overlooked group335. The Syrian refugees are from different socio-economic
backgrounds, they do not bring investments with them and are poor in Jordan (as even the
educated ones have difficulties in getting work permits). Syrians in camps are dependent on
humanitarian aid and those living in host communities are increasingly dependent on external
assistance (government and international). Many are “turning to negative coping strategies such
as limiting food consumption, restricting children’s access to education, engaging in illegal
activities, resorting to child labour or accepting early marriage”336.
These waves of immigration have led to increased competition for resources and are draining the
ability of the government to meet the needs of its own citizens. As such the needs of vulnerable
Jordanians citizens have grown and the quality of services has deteriorated, affecting both Syrians
and Jordanians in host communities.
Education System Overview
The Ministry of Education (MoE) is responsible for the pre-primary, primary and secondary levels
of education in Jordan. Some administrative powers have been decentralised at the governorate
and school-level as the country is moving towards results-based management. However, the
ultimate decision-making rests with the MoE. Post-secondary education is the responsibility of
the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR). The Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) and applied vocational education are administered by the
Vocational Training Corporation (VTC), under the authority of the Ministry of Labour.
Jordanian public schools are single sex schools, the language of instruction is Arabic, the academic
year begins in September and ends in June, and the official primary school entrance age is 6. The
333 UNHCR (2016)
334 Sassoon, J (2011)
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336 MPIC (2017)