Minister says 200,000 foreign students of 85 nationalities in public schools

AMMAN — Over 200,000 students of 85 nationalities are enrolled at Jordan's public schools, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat said Sunday.

At a discussion session on means to address education challenges for refugees held in Dubai within the fourth Global Education and Skills Forum, Thneibat said education services for Syrian refugee students cost JD250 million annually.

The ministry, he added, has built 5,000 classrooms at a cost of over $600 million to absorb the Syrian students, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister thanked donors and international organisations for supporting education services for refugees, but noted that the support only covers 38 per cent of the total cost of the refugee crisis, and 25 per cent of the cost of education.

The focus on addressing the added pressure on schools brought on by the refugee crisis has delayed the implementation of education reform plans, Thneibat said.

Noting that more than 145,000 Syrian students are enrolled in the ministry's schools, he said 98 public schools have started operating on the double-shift system to cope with the pressure, while 100 more schools will start operating on that system in the upcoming academic year.

Warning that failure to offer education services to refugee children will lead to negative consequences that could affect the world, Thneibat urged the international community to shoulder its responsibility and not leave Jordan facing this issue alone.

According to the 2015 census, around 1.3 million of the Kingdom's 9.5 million population are Syrians.