Paving pathways for refugee inclusion: Jordan case study
Country context
Jordan is a lower-middle-income country with a population of over 11 million inhabitants (World Bank, n.d.). It faces several interrelated development challenges, including resource scarcity and low institutional capacity across all sectors. Regional political instability and conflicts have given way to substantial refugee flows towards Jordan. As of 2022, Jordan hosts over 3.7 million refugees, including over 660,000 registered Syrians. However, estimations indicate that the total Syrian population in Jordan stands at 1.3 million, including unregistered refugees (UNICEF, 2022). Jordan also hosts over 2.3 million registered Palestinian refugees, who fall under the mandate of UNRWA and are excluded from this study (UNHCR, n.d.).
Key statistics
Policy and data overview
Jordan is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention or the 1967 Protocol, nor has it enacted a refugee law. A Memorandum of Understanding signed in 1998 allows UNHCR to operate in the country and defines the rights of refugees in Jordan. In 2014, the Jordan Response Platform for the Syria Crisis (JRPSC) was established by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC) to ensure a coordinated response between the government, donors, and UN agencies. The JRSPC issues national strategies to guide the refugee response across sectors, including education (MoPIC, 2020). In 2016, the National Human Resource Development Plan (NHRDP) (2016-2025) included a goal to increase refugee access to education as an important measure for national development.
Policy pathway for refugee education in Jordan
While legal frameworks for refugees are limited, Jordan has adopted policies ensuring access to education for Syrian refugees, with some data available to monitor policy implementation. However, significant policy and data gaps remain, particularly for unregistered refugees.
According to the 1998 MoU, refugees who register with UNHCR may be issued proof of registration, granting them legal status and an Asylum-Seeker Certificate (ASC), valid for one year on a renewable basis (UNHCR, n.d.c). Since 2014, Syrian refugees must also register with the MoI to obtain biometric Service Cards granting access to social services, including health care and education (NRC, 2016; UNHCR, n.d.b.). In 2015, an Urban Verification Exercise (UVE) was launched, allowing many refugees to receive MoI cards. However, issuance is contingent on presenting proof of residence, a health certificate, and an ID or birth certificate, which bars many Syrians from accessing the procedure (ibid.). MoI cards are valid for a period determined by the government (currently until December 2023) (Jordan Times, 2023).
Access to early childhood, primary and secondary education
The Ministry of Education (MoE)’s Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 2018-2025 and the NHRDP aim to expand access to education for refugees at all levels. Refugee education provision is also included in the Jordan Response Plan (JRP) 2020-2022. To absorb additional learners, the MoE has relied on a double-shift system, originally implemented in 1960 to accommodate Palestinian learners, with many Syrian students attending afternoon shifts (WBZ, 2017). In 2017, a former requirement to present an MoI card to enrol was waived, and circulars were disseminated to school principals to reaffirm that children should be enrolled regardless of status (Younes and Morrice, 2019). However, the requirement was reintroduced in 2019 (HRW, 2020). In 2021/2022, UNHCR noted that the MoE had waived the requirement for the first term of the academic year.
Safe learning environment
The ESP, JRP, and HNRDP include specific goals to foster a safe learning environment for refugees and host community learners. Specifically, the ESP outlines several initiatives to prevent school violence, including the Ma’an ('Together for a Safe Environment') campaign and an anti-bullying programme (MoE, 2018). In 2017, the Nashatati ('My Activities') after-school programme was launched by the MoE, aiming to build life skills, promote social cohesion, and provide psychosocial support to students (Younes and Morrice, 2019). The ESP also sets targets for the construction of additional safe infrastructure and WASH facilities (MoE, 2018).
Quality learning conditions
The JRP, ESP, and NHRDP provide a framework for the provision of quality education to all students, including refugees. The ESP includes targets for the improvement of the quality of assessments, school curriculum, ICT, and community participation in schools. It also highlights the need for specific training of teachers to deliver education to refugee students, including training to provide psychosocial support (MoE, 2018). However, only Jordanians may be employed as teachers; legal restrictions impede Syrian refugee teachers from exercising their profession (Ministry of Labour, 2020).
Access to transitions
Refugees may transition through all levels of education. While the education system in Jordan has no end-of-cycle exams at the primary or lower secondary levels, promotion between Grades 1 to 11 is dependent on academic performance and attendance. Students who are absent for 39 or more days per academic year must repeat the grade the following year (UNICEF, 2018). A UNICEF-led programme (Makani) aims to prevent absenteeism through SMS alerts and home visits for students at risk of exceeding the limit, based on attendance data provided through the OpenEMIS portal (ibid.).
Certification of learning
All students in Jordan sit the Tawjihi (General Secondary Education Certificate) exam at the end of upper secondary in both general and vocational tracks. Completion of the exam is mandatory to receive certification. Refugees may sit for the Tawjihi on the same basis as nationals upon paying registration fees. Due to historically low success rates, since 2017, all students '[are] allowed to receive the minimum passing rate of 40 per cent' and are eligible to apply for tertiary education regardless of their score (MoE, 2018, p. 32).
Access to technical, vocational and tertiary education
Refugees may apply for admission to higher education upon presenting a valid Service Card, although they are required to pay international student tuition rates (UNHCR, 2021). To address this obstacle, some universities have offered reduced fees for refugees (UN, 2020). Various scholarships are available to remove financial barriers for refugees, including the Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative (DAFI) scholarship and the EDU-Syria scholarship programme (EU, n.d.).
Since the Global Compact on Refugees in 2016 and subsequent Ministerial authorization, Syrian refugees have the right to work in designated sectors, although employment is largely limited to low-skilled occupations including construction, agriculture, and manufacturing (Ministry of Labour, 2020). Syrian refugees may obtain a work permit after presenting a valid Service Card, undergoing a medical exam, and receiving a work contract. Refugees with a work permit are protected under the labour law and have the right to a minimum wage and social security (UNHCR, n.d.d.) However, many Syrians do not hold a work permit and are employed in the informal sector. Pathways to citizenship are limited for Syrian refugees (Robbin and Qiblawi, 2023).
Trajectory of inclusion of refugees in policy and data
Although a non-signatory to international refugee law, Jordan has followed a positive trajectory for the inclusion of refugees, both in education policy and in data systems since the onset of the Syrian crisis in 2011.
Enabling and constraining factors
Political will has fostered an inclusive policy landscape and helped pave the way towards broader inclusion in data systems.
Collaboration with the international community has been instrumental in enabling educational inclusion of Syrian refugees.
Insufficient capacity at the local and central levels hinders data collection processes, including for quality assurance and data analysis.
Recommendations
- Formulate long-term policies to provide better learning conditions and outcomes for refugees, including by integrating Syrians in classes alongside Jordanian peers.
- Establish more systematic and regular population censuses to capture accurate data on total numbers of Syrian refugees living in Jordan to ensure informed decision-making.
- Ensure all Syrian refugees are reflected in OpenEMIS and provide disaggregation by documentation type to allow for monitoring of educational progression for all refugees.
- Direct funding and capacity-building towards systematic data collection and regular dissemination efforts.
- Systematize collaboration with the Government of Jordan to reinforce the publication of EMIS data online.
