EU approves 15m euro agreement to provide 2,245 Syrian refugees, vulnerable Jordanians with higher education scholarships

AMMAN — The European Union on Thursday approved a grant agreement of 15 million euros to support 2,245 vulnerable Jordanians and Syrian refugees with full scholarships to higher education institutions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Under the agreement, signed by EU Ambassador to Jordan Maria Hadjitheodosiou and President of the German Jordanian University Manar Fayyad, the EU-funded project "Support to Higher Education for Syrian Refugees and Vulnerable Jordanian Youths-EDU-SYRIA III" will give students the opportunity to pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Jordanian universities and colleges.

Students will also have the option to attend programmes for vocational education, technical training, qualification training for teachers, special entrepreneurial training, labour market-oriented courses and summer programmes for high school students.

The EU ambassador said that the project will extend for a period of four years with the aim of increasing the capacity of Jordan’s higher education institutions as well as fostering social cohesion and dialogue between Syrian refugees and Jordanian host communities.

Reiterating the EU's commitment to continuing its support of Jordan’s efforts to address the impact of Syrian refugees in the country, the envoy added that this grant will give both Syrian refugees and disadvantaged youth in Jordan the opportunity to pursue an education that “will enhance their opportunities for securing jobs and stable livelihoods”.

"We hope that this project will enable these wonderfully talented and well-educated youth to have the opportunity to deliver on Jordan's high potential and contribute to a bright future for all," she added.

The EDU-SYRIA III project is the collaborative effort of nine local and international partners, including the German Jordanian University, which is leading the effort, DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and Nuffic (the Dutch Organisation for Internationalisation in Education).

It also includes the Queen Rania Teacher Academy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Yarmouk University, Mutah University, Zarqa University and Luminus Technical University College.

The project also cooperates with Jordanian aid funds including the National Aid Fund, Tkiyet Um Ali, Al Aman Fund and the Jordanian Zakat Fund.