Jordan has been facing a great deal of criticism over its treatment of Iraqis at Jordan’s Queen Alia airport, some of it deserved, some not so much. However, I have not seen many reactions or blog postings hailing Jordan’s decision to allow the entry of Iraqi children into the public schools.
AMMAN — Public schools in the Kingdom are witnessing a heavy turnout of Iraqis residing in the country, who want to enroll their children before classes start next week. Last Monday, the Ministry of Education finalized a decision to allow Iraqi students to study in public schools as of the beginning of this scholastic year, without the prerequisite residency permit.
The decision, which was taken in response to the humanitarian situation the Iraqis are going through, is intended to ensure that Iraqi children have access to education, according to an Education Ministry official. Previously, private schools were accepting Iraqi students, and only Iraqis holding residency permits were allowed to enroll in public schools. "Large numbers of Iraqis are registering their children in schools across the country," Managing Director of General Education and Students Affairs Mohammad Okour told The Jordan Times yesterday. Figures of how many Iraqi school age children have been registered so far are not yet available, he said. According to Okour, some 50,000 Iraqi students are expected to enter the country’s public schools, in addition to 14,000 who are already in the educational system. Source: [The Jordan Times]
In my humble opinion, I think this is a very courageous and noble step by Jordan. I wonder how the expected enrollment of 50,000 Iraqi children will change the makeup of Jordanian public education in the long-run. How will Jordanians react to this huge influx of Iraqis into their children’s schools when there is already a great deal of tension between Jordanians and Iraqis over the refugee issue and others. Only time will tell. Meanwhile, where is the applause?
Update: Here is a quick update from The Jordan Times.
HRW hails acceptance of Iraqis in schools
AMMAN — The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday welcomed Jordan’s decision to accept all Iraqi school-age children into public schools, but criticised country’s refusal to recognise Iraqis as refugees. In a press release, the group said: "For the first time, Jordan has officially pledged to allow Iraqi children to attend public schools regardless of their residency status." Responding to the statement, a senior official reiterated that Iraqis residing in Jordan do not meet the criteria of refugees as stated in the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees. Read more.
This shouldn’t be “noble” it should be “normal” to assist dispersed members of the human race. To say it is “courageous” is like saying the Katrina-dispensed student body were welcomed as well by the remaining “courageous” 49 U.S. states. This should be, but obviously is not, a normal innate practice all around the globe … the instinct to help others. There should be no “applause”, rather a sigh of relief that two countries are not squabbling enough over each other’s past, and just doing what should come naturally. A “good job” is all you get Jordan, not a standing ovation.
On a lighter note, as for how this influx will affect the atmosphere in Jordanian schools, can’t really say, never been to one, but I picture it being something like a Louisianan Southern Baptist entering a private Catholic school in New England. Adolescent inter-religious relationship will form that might actually go a long way for future relations between countries. A second “good job” to Jordan.
Natasha, when we speak about the public cost of supporting Iraqis in Jordan lets explain what “public” cost means. It means money that I and other Jordanians pay from our taxes, NOT some generous government gift. and as a JORDANIAN TAX PAYER, I SUPPORT ALL MEASURES TO MAKE LIFE FOR IRAQIS VERY COMFORTABLE IN JORDAN to the point they feel like regular citizens (not sure if that’s a good thing for them 🙂 If money is tight, i suggest we clamp down on “health” vacations for Jordanian officials that cost the Jordanian tax payers millions of dollars every year. and lets clamp down on all the corruption in the form of gifts, graft, and subsidies to support the lavish lifestyles of corrupt regime officials and their families. The Iraqis were there for us in our time of need, and this is our chance to show that we are there for them too. That’s what it means to be JORDANIAN. We are generous, honorable, and Arab. Anything else is “official.”
People tend to think of Jordan as a country with resources.
Jordan is a VERY POOR country, do not let the hanging bridge fool you. Syria is a country with much more wealth than Jordan.
The Jordanian population has increased by more than 15% in less than 3 years, that is a percentage not heard of before, except in some African countries where genocides take place.
My heart is broken for all the Iraqis who suffered from this unncessary war. They deserve to be helped probably more than anyone else, all what I’m asling for is for Iraqi refugees not to expect anything more than what a Jordanians citizen is getting.
ما هي قيمه كتابتك عن هذا الموضوع,,أولآ,التعليم هي من Øقوق الانسان.ثانيآ,ألاردن ككل سائر الدول قد وقعت علي معاهدات دوليه مع الامم المتØدةتقدي بي أعطاء كل لاجأ الØÙ‚ ÙÙŠ التعليم.ثالثا,هناك الكثير من الوكلات الدوليه قد منØت الاردن ملاين من الدولارات لسد Øاجات الاردن الانسانيه.رابعا,عندما كان العراق عراقا ,أولو٠من الطلبه الاردنين تعلموا ÙÙŠ أعظم جامعات العراق مجانا,علي سبيل المثال. صهري قد تخرج من كليه الطب ÙÙŠ جامعه بغداد دون أن يدÙع Ùلس واØد.خامسا,الي بدو يساعد الناس ما بØملهم جميله.سادسا, هذا أقل شئ يمكن تقديمه لشعب لم يتاوري ÙÙŠ تقديم الساعده لكل العرب بما Ùيهم الاردنيون….واخيرآ الجارقبل الدار كما يقول المثل الاردني الاصيل
Well, Natasha, there are a couple reasons not to applaud just yet.
1) After years of intimidation and being barred from schools, it’s likely to take more than just a few kind words to get Iraqis to bleieve this offer is for real, and that there won’t be any punitive action taken against Iraqis who sign up. The government has said Iraqis would be accepted in schools before, remember, and then changed its mind. Now, I believe this is different — but I don’t think many Iraqis do: at the moment there are maybe 4,000 registered for public school. Most estimates say there are between 10 and 30 times that many Iraqi children in Jordan.
2) The majority of Iraqi children have been out of school for a year, many have been out for more than a year. Many have been exposed to trauma of various kinds. Mainstreaming them back into normal classrooms is unlikely to be easy. So far, I’m not really convinced there are enough resources being dedicated to getting them caught up — there’s one NGO working on it. At a guess, that will mean lots of friction in schools, possibly a high dropout rate?
3) Many Iraqis are extremely poor and not allowed to work. Public school fees are minimal, but I’ve seen cases of Iraqis who didn’t have JD5 for school fees, much less JD30+books for several children. As of yesterday, there was no agreement finalized to pay the fees of the most vulnerable.
If Jordan had not allowed many Iraqis to be de facto excluded from education for years, this whole situation would be easier. Yes, Jordan’s government should be thanked for doing the right thing at last… but perhaps not thunderous applause.
Mohanned, maybe you knew this, but I think this Jeff is Natasha’s husband.
I’m applauding. Years ago, a group of Iraqi parents opened a small school (which I believe was not ‘legal’), as they weren’t allowed in ANY school then. Then the Latin school decided to open it’s doors to Iraqi kids who had been years w/o education, again under the radar. The next year the ruling was made for Iraqi kids to enter the public school system. Most Iraqi refugees hadn’t thought to bring their kids transcripts when they left, though, so they couldn’t get in even with residence.
It has been a process, and considering the resources, Jordan has done a good job of processing, albeit in reaction more than proaction.
There are dozens of Iraqi families at my kid’s school. I have heard their stories of treatment at other schools, who weren’t so welcoming.
And for Iraqi’s, this is the only thing that they might be able to salvage out of the miserable life they were put into.
And Jeff you are writing from?
Jordan’s efforts when it comes to refugees have not always been perfect, sometimes far from it. But you get the sense they are trying to make sense of it, trying in some fashion. And there does always seem to be a moral compass guiding at least part of the effort. It’s hard to know how all of this mess will play out. I do think the kingdom deserves kudos, however, for this effort. Watching the controls put out when the war first began several years ago, I’d not have expected it, particularly considering that most consider their children and their education the prime resource for their nation. It is a noble act that will hopefully be followed by others. It’s just truly pitiful that other nations, those with much greater resources, are not stepping up to do the same or better.
public education costs around 700jds per jordanian student as of this year. that’s how much the ministry will be paying (using our taxes). this is without the books; they tend to factor in everything except the books. the average classrooms have about 20 something kids now, some areas in amman are as high as an astounding 40-50 range.
how will jordanians react to 50,000 iraqi children entering public schools. i really don’t know.
but it is more than an “arab” obligation, it’s a moral obligation to let these kids get an education when no one seems to be offering that to them. so i dont think there’s any need for applause. and also, it’s better then the alternatives: no education or the creation of a parallel system.