Number of public schools increases in Kingdom — JSF

AMMAN — The Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) said in a recent publication that the total number of public schools in Jordan increased by 8.4 per cent in the past 10 years.

In a statement for The Jordan Times, the JSF called for the necessity of conducting comprehensive studies to assess the level of infrastructure at public schools, as well as the need to determine the economic feasibility of renting its facilities.

According to JSF, “Up until 2022, the total number of public schools reached 4,005, and the schools owned by the Ministry of Education accounted for 81 per cent”.

It pointed out that the schooling sector in Jordan has demonstrated a clear improvement in “the estimates of mean years of schooling”, this reflects the growing importance of education in the Kingdom, being the backbone of development and growth operations.

The percentage of rented public school facilities decreased from 24.2 per cent in 2014 to 19.1 per cent in 2022, the JSF said, adding that the average number of teachers increased to 23 per school in 2022.

“The total number of teachers working at public school facilities was around 93.400 in 2022,” the JSF publication reported.

Further, it noted that internet is employed in 92 per cent of public schools, meanwhile computers were available in 73 per cent of public schools during 2020.

“The annual average expenditure on education when compared with GDP, is relatively low amounting to 3.2 per cent,” and the budgetary allocations earmarked for research and development in the educational sector during the years 2020-2023, only amounted around JD950.000 per year.

The JSF recommended increased investment in education, improved quality control, the development of teachers training programmes and modules.