Education ministry to enlist private sector to build 600 schools over next decade — IFC

AMMAN — Jordan spends more than $90 million annually on the education of Syrian refugees, which amounts to around 7 per cent of the Education Ministry’s budget, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Country Manager Dalia Wahba said on Wednesday. 

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Wahba added that there are around 143,000 Syrian students receiving education in Jordanian schools, which “strains the education system in a small country like Jordan”. 

The country manager noted that 600 schools work double shifts nationwide, with an average of 40 students in these classes, which is 50 per cent more than the national average for the capacity of the classrooms.

Education is vital for the future of the Kingdom, and prepares students from all backgrounds and incomes to be ready for a constantly changing future world, she added.

The IFC will offer the government the assistance necessary to stimulate its educational system, with the corporation providing technical support for structuring public-private partnerships, assisting decision-makers in  floating tenders and working to guarantee that winners of tenders have the ability to implement big projects, Wahba noted. 

The manager pointed out that the Education Ministry aims at building 600 schools over the next decade, utilising the help of the private sector for the first time. She added that this type of partnership is the “first of its kind” in the region.

She explained that the private companies will be responsible for funding, building, operating and maintaining these schools before their ownerships move to the government, adding that such a step will reduce financial burdens on the government and allow it to allocate more money to other priority sectors.

Wahba added that the government will grant contracts for building 15 elementary and secondary schools in Amman, Zarqa and Irbid next year to provide education to some 15,000 Jordanian students and 20,000 Syrian students.

This move aims to direct around $30-$40 million from the private sector into the education sector, reduce overcrowding in classrooms and end the two-shift system in many schools, the IFC official added.