It is estimated that 35 per cent of the Syrian refugees in host communities in Jordan are school-aged children who are now attending Jordanian public schools. This has placed tremendous pressure on the Jordanian education system which, prior to the refugee crisis, was already facing limited resources and capacity.
The Government of Canada is committed to helping address the needs of those adversely impacted by the Syrian crisis. To this end, on January 23, 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper reiterated Canada’s commitment to Jordan’s Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy (ERfKE) initiative by providing continued support of $4.7 million.
Canada’s support to ERfKE will be delivered through Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development Canada’s School and Directorate Improvement (SDI) project, which aims to strengthen the quality of basic education in Jordan. Support via the SDI project has been in place since 2010. With the addition of $4.7 million, the project will now continue until 2016, and expand across the country. The total approved value of the SDI project is now $23.8 million.
The additional support will provide the Government of Jordan with further resources that will benefit both local students as well as child refugee students from Syria attending public schools in host communities.
More specifically, the project provides technical assistance to field directorates, public schools and local communities to enable them to implement school improvements with a greater degree of responsibility and accountability. The Ministry of Education in Jordan is institutionalizing this new approach to local school reform by developing training manuals and a clearer accountability and reporting framework. Canadian support is being implemented through Agriteam Canada.
Agriteam Canada provides management and technical expertise to developing and transitional country partners on projects that promote sustainable growth and provide meaningful opportunities for people to improve their lives.
The ERfKE initiative is managed by Jordan's Ministry of Education and supported principally by the World Bank, the European Union, Canada, the United States and UNESCO.
Funds for this project are part of the $75 million for development in Jordan that was announced by John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on June 16, 2013. - See more at: http://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2014/...
