Report provides data on out-of-school children in Jordan before COVID-19 pandemic

Report provides data on out-of-school children in Jordan before COVID-19 pandemic

AMMAN “” A new report released jointly by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education has shown that the numbers of children not attending primary education in Jordan has remained steady despite the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis, with 4.7 per cent of children aged 6 to 11 years out of school.

A total of 112,016 children in Jordan,6.2 per cent, are out of school from grades 1 to 10, according to a statement made available to The Jordan Times.

Data show that most children not in education are of non-Jordanian nationality, including over 50,000 Syrian children, and that boys are more likely to drop out than girls.

"The report shows that the huge efforts made by Government and partners in the decade since the beginning of the Syrian conflict to provide children with their right to an education have played a significant role in protecting boys' and girls' futures,“ said UNICEF Jordan Representative Tanya Chapuisat in the statement.

"It is critical that these efforts are continued to mitigate any negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's learning,“ Chapuisat said.

"This report also highlights that further efforts are needed to reach children who are still excluded because of gender, geography, nationality and socio-economic status,