Education of Disadvantaged Children in OIC:
The Key to Escape from Poverty
252
Technology. There have been several initiatives in the past to introduce technology in teaching
methods (e.g. the Jordan Education Initiative since 2003531) and several current ones (e.g. MoE
and UNICEF partnering with Orange to bring digital learning to public schools532 , Edraak –
Jordan’s Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)533). Several conferences in the last year have
brought together companies and initiatives pertaining to technology and education, including
the No Lost Generation EdTech Summit in March 2017.
Demand-side
Poverty/Social Protection. Around 90% of Syrian refugees in Jordan live below the poverty
line, compared to 14.5% of the national population534. As seen in earlier sections, the cost of
schooling and child labour are an important demand-side barriers and are challenges to access
to schooling, especially in poor households. As such, social protection policies that support poor
households may address certain demand-side barriers and improve overall access to schooling.
Government/Local. Government social security mechanisms in Jordan include the Military
Pension System, the Civil Servant Pension System and the Social Security System (SSS). The SSS
covers around 72% of workers in the Kingdom535.
Through the National Aid Fund, the Jordanian government offers cash assistance targeted to
households below the poverty line and in vulnerable categories such as widows, orphans,
families with disabled members etc. Depending on the program, the targeting is through semi-
verified means testing in combination with categorical targeting with conditionalities such as
immunization, school attendance, avoid begging and avoid violence.536
Another important social protection program is run by the Zakat Fund which delivers cash and
in-kind assistance and is funded by donations. It is organized through 210 regional committees
and only households who do not receive any other benefits are eligible for the Zakat Fund. The
530
531UNESCO (2006)
532
533
534 ODI (2017)
535 ODI (2017)
536 ODI (2017)
- Remedial Centres aimed at improving learning and integration of Syrian refugee
children within the school system
Results. Madrasati works in 500 schools in Jordan. By combining infrastructure and capacity
building, student academic performance has improved by 5-8% in 130 Madrasati schools
surveyed. The MoE reported a 10% decrease in truancy at the schools. 530
Source: Queen Rania Foundation website and in-depth interviews with Foundation Staff.