The Jordanian school system, which is already struggling to support its Jordanian youth, is in danger of collapsing due to the sudden influx of Syrian refugee children. School-age children from 5 to 17 years old comprise 35 percent of the Syrian refugee population in Jordan–most of them are not able to attend school in Jordan due to overcrowding and an insufficient amount of educational resources.
Syrian families have have been leaving Syria since the beginning of the civil war: this summer, a large exodus of Syrian families found refuge in surrounding countries including Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Turkey. This has caused an extreme strain on the educational facilities, among other national stresses, of these countries.
Jordan’s school systems have to utilize double shifts–morning and afternoon classes with different students–to accommodate their own large student population. In the past few years, there have been efforts to eliminate these shifts. However, with the influx of Syrian refugee children, these shifts have become necessary again. These shifts continue to add to the pressure on Jordan’s educational system; double shifting puts an added strain on teachers, school infrastructure, and parents and families.
However, even with these accommodations, many Syrian students don’t have access to education. According to UNICEF, more than 81,000 syrian refugee children are enrolled in learning programs in Jordan. Nevertheless, attendance is still very low.
Yusra Shinwan fled from Syria with her two children. At the start of this school year, she tried to register her children in some schools. She was able to register them, but was told to her children could not attend until a double shift was instituted. They are still waiting. She says, “my 13-year-old son and 16 year-old daughter look around and see people their age going to school and they feel left behind…I fled for safety, but now they are restless and angry…they are telling me that they are wasting their education and their future. They want to go back to school in Syria.”
Curt Rhodes, International Director of Questscope, an organization aiding social development in the Middle East, says, “the focus has been on registering children…It has not been on how to help them stay in school.”
The numbers are worse in Iraq and Lebanon. In Iraq, 90-95% of Syrian refugee children are not enrolled in school. UNICEF warns that this is creating a lost generation of students.
However, in an effort to fight against this lost generation of students, many international organizations are creating avenues of aid for Syrian refugee students and for children in general. September 21st marks this year’s International Day of Peace--the theme this year is “Education for Peace.” The United Nations has marked this day as an exhortation to invest in education more intentionally.
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