Iraqi children granted access to education, announces Government of Jordan
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Some 200,000 school age Iraqi children could benefit
from a recent announcement by the Government of Jordan that they will now allow Iraqi children to enrol and attend both public and private schools in the country.
This decision was made in response to the mounting needs of Iraqi children, some of whom have not attended school for years. Up to 750,000 Iraqis are believed to be living in Jordan, having fled the violence and insecurity in their homeland. A further 1.4 million are estimated to be in Syria, with tens-of-thousands having fled to other countries across the region.
Only 14,000 Iraqi children were believed to be attending school regularly over the last academic year in Jordan, as previous guidelines allowed only with valid residency permits to access education. The recent decision allows schools to enrol students regardless of their residency status.
Much work needs to be done, however, if sufficient resources are to be mobilised in time for the coming school year, which begins on the 19th of August. The Jordanian education system is already suffering from overcrowding; with some schools already full to capacity and practicing double-shifting.
World Vision welcomes the commitment of the Government of Jordan to support these refugees, despite the immense strains being placed upon the country's infrastructure, health and education systems, society, and its' economy.
With less than two weeks before the school year begins, World Vision hopes that all parties will do all they can to ensure as many children have access to the classroom as is possible.
World Vision
• Welcomes this essential step in supporting Iraqi refugees taken by the Government of Jordan.
• Asks the Government of Jordan to facilitate the rapid enrolment into schools of up to 50,000 Iraqi children over the next 6-months, with the remaining refugee children to be admitted as soon as conditions allow.
• Hopes the principle of non-refoulement will be upheld by host governments so that refugees are not afraid to register their children in schools.
• Given that some refugee children have been absent from school for an extended period of time – sometimes three years or more – trusts that schools will be lenient and will work with such students to bring them to the same level as their contemporaries.
• Calls on the international community to seek opportunities to support refugee children to access schools, by facilitating the enrolment process or by helping families with the expenses associated with schooling.
• Calls on the international community to deliver on their pledges to support Iraqi refugees.
• Calls on the international community to commit to continued support for host governments in the region over the coming months and years, to enable them to carry this enormous burden of caring for over 2 million Iraqi refugees.
To read more about the situation faced by young Iraqis in Jordan, visit www.iraqichildrentrapped.org
This decision was made in response to the mounting needs of Iraqi children, some of whom have not attended school for years. Up to 750,000 Iraqis are believed to be living in Jordan, having fled the violence and insecurity in their homeland. A further 1.4 million are estimated to be in Syria, with tens-of-thousands having fled to other countries across the region.
Only 14,000 Iraqi children were believed to be attending school regularly over the last academic year in Jordan, as previous guidelines allowed only with valid residency permits to access education. The recent decision allows schools to enrol students regardless of their residency status.
Much work needs to be done, however, if sufficient resources are to be mobilised in time for the coming school year, which begins on the 19th of August. The Jordanian education system is already suffering from overcrowding; with some schools already full to capacity and practicing double-shifting.
World Vision welcomes the commitment of the Government of Jordan to support these refugees, despite the immense strains being placed upon the country's infrastructure, health and education systems, society, and its' economy.
With less than two weeks before the school year begins, World Vision hopes that all parties will do all they can to ensure as many children have access to the classroom as is possible.
World Vision
• Welcomes this essential step in supporting Iraqi refugees taken by the Government of Jordan.
• Asks the Government of Jordan to facilitate the rapid enrolment into schools of up to 50,000 Iraqi children over the next 6-months, with the remaining refugee children to be admitted as soon as conditions allow.
• Hopes the principle of non-refoulement will be upheld by host governments so that refugees are not afraid to register their children in schools.
• Given that some refugee children have been absent from school for an extended period of time – sometimes three years or more – trusts that schools will be lenient and will work with such students to bring them to the same level as their contemporaries.
• Calls on the international community to seek opportunities to support refugee children to access schools, by facilitating the enrolment process or by helping families with the expenses associated with schooling.
• Calls on the international community to deliver on their pledges to support Iraqi refugees.
• Calls on the international community to commit to continued support for host governments in the region over the coming months and years, to enable them to carry this enormous burden of caring for over 2 million Iraqi refugees.
To read more about the situation faced by young Iraqis in Jordan, visit www.iraqichildrentrapped.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
