Ministry, USAID sign agreements to build 25 schools, revamp hundreds

AMMAN — The Public Works Ministry and the the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Wednesday signed various agreements that include 14 contracts to build, revamp and expand schools.

The projects, which are worth $67 million, will be implemented by 11 Jordanian companies, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The agreements are part of the government's partnership with USAID to build 25 new schools, expand 120 others, as well as build 300 classrooms at kindergartens and renew 132 schools across the Kingdom, Petra said.

The plan aims to improve the Kingdom's infrastructure to provide basic education services with a better quality, according to Petra.

During the signing ceremony, Public Works Minister Yahya Kisbi said that these agreements come in light of the increase of population in the Kingdom, which almost doubled in the last 10 years. 

Kisbi said that 40 per cent of Jordanians are currently school aged, stressing that fast population growth constitutes a great burden on the existing infrastructure.

The ministry is currently working on cooperating with USAID to increase the numbers of governmental classrooms by building new schools and expanding existing ones which are now overcrowded by Jordanians and Syrian refugees.

The minister voiced his appreciation for the agency's support and grants, stressing the importance of improving the infrastructure to ensure the delivery of a better education for all children.

For her part, USAID Acting Mission Director in Jordan Nancy Eslick expressed delight over working in partnership with the Jordanian government to provide students with a safe and modern education environment.

Eslick noted that USAID is also cooperating with the Education Ministry to improve reading and calculation skills for children, in addition to improving teaching skills of tutors.