Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, Jordan has served as a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of refugees seeking asylum, taking in 654,141 Syrian refugees, increasing from 120,018 to 490,880 between January and July 2013 alone. Unofficial estimates of unregistered refugees increase the total to 741,000 people or more. In addition to the approximately 740,000 Syrians who were already living and working in Jordan, Syrian refugees now comprise nearly 10% of Jordan’s population.
Jordan’s response to the influx of Syrian refugees has been generous but has also placed tremendous pressure on the country’s economy, infrastructure and social services, including education. With approximately 350,000 Syrian refugee children and young people in Jordan, about 215,000 children are of school age and 90,000 are still out of school (OOSC). Jordan is facing a daunting challenge in providing education to all refugee children and youth while continuing to strengthen its own education system.
There are five opportunities for the international community and Jordan to form a stronger partnership to ensure education opportunity for all children in Jordan. Over the next school year, a strengthened partnership could mobilize $65 million and support approximately 215,000 school age children, including 90,000 out-of-school Syrian refugee children. Achieving these targets would help Jordan achieve the Education For All (EFA) and No Lost Generation (NLG) initiative goals.
Opportunity #1: Scale up access to primary and secondary education for out-of-school children and youth who are ready for formal school.
Opportunity # 2: Provide alternative education for children and youth who are unable to enter state schools.
Opportunity #3: Invest in early childhood education for all children.
Opportunity #4: Increase post-secondary education for youth.
Opportunity #5: Develop a longer-term costed education sector plan with a focus on resilience and emphasis on stronger coordination among donors.