Queen Rania highlights impact of Syrian refugee crisis on Jordan’s education sector

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Tuesday met with Queen Mathilde of Belgium and other officials in Brussels to discuss mobilising international support for Jordan’s education sector. 

Queen Rania met with Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles Michel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker to discuss ways to address the increasing strain on Jordan’s education sector as a result of the Syrian refugee crisis, according to a statement from her office.

Her Majesty’s meetings focused on showcasing the struggles Jordanians face in cities that are densely populated by Syrians.  

She highlighted the impact the crisis has had on the Kingdom’s resources, infrastructure, and especially schools, which have accommodated 150,000 Syrian students.

This has affected the quality of education at schools that have been forced to run double shifts, with teachers under pressure to handle larger numbers of students in each class, the statement said. 

Her Majesty’s meetings are part of Jordan’s extensive efforts at all levels, ahead of the Syria Donors Conference in London in early February where education will be a key theme.

Jordan currently hosts 1.4 million Syrians, who constitute 20 per cent of the Kingdom’s population; with only some 600,000 of them registered as refugees. 

Moreover, almost 90 per cent of Syrian refugees live in towns and villages instead of camps, stretching Jordan’s limited resources, schools and hospitals to the limit.

The funding received from the international community to support Jordan in dealing with the impact of the crisis in 2015 did not exceed 37 per cent of the Kingdom’s needs, according to official figures. 

London was the first stop in the Queen's working visit to several European countries, where she met with UK Prime Minister David Cameron last Friday, and discussed ways to help Jordan address the challenges created by the Syrian refugee influx.