36 per cent rise in out-of-school children's enrolment this academic year — UNICEF

AMMAN — Over 3,500 out-of-school Syrian and Jordanian children are set to get back into the formal education system following their attendance of the Catch-Up programme implemented by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with UNICEF, which has recorded an increase in enrolment of 36 per cent since the beginning of the current academic year. 

Launched in November 2016, the programme caters to out-of-school children aged between nine and 12 years old who have missed school for over three years, including them into an advanced learning path and integrating them back into the formal education system. 

UNICEF Deputy Representative Ettie Higgins attributed the increase in the programme’s participation to the outreach campaign implemented by the UN agency over the past academic year, which reached a total of 5,000 children, 20 per cent of whom were eligible to return to the formal education system. 

“But it is not only the campaign that made it possible,” Higgins told The Jordan Times, highlighting the efforts of the Ministry of Education and the increase in the number of institutions offering the service in around 100 centres located in host communities and refugee camps.  

“Cumulatively, the programme has reached over 4,000 students up to this point,” the official continued, adding that “as per last month, 550 children were already back into the formal education system, and we are expecting this number to increase as more children graduate from the Catch-Up programme”. 

About 6,000 more children are expected to be targeted during the upcoming academic year, according to Higgins, who expressed hopes to “build on the success of the programme and continue to reach more out-of-school children”.

In addition, children over the age of 12 who are uneligible to get back into the formal education system are able to get involved in Dropout programmes which provide them with learning opportunities towards further education and employment choices in their adult phase. 

“The Dropout programme is key for children and teenagers in other age groups to ensure a future,” Higgins said, noting that the initiative reached a total of 3,000 students last year, and UNICEF is aiming to scale it up in the near future.  

But, despite the progress, only 142,000 Syrian refugee children were enrolled in the public school system as per last year, out of the 230,000 Syrian refugees that are school-aged, according to UNICEF figures.

An additional 30,000 children were attending non-formal education and approximately 58,000 children were not participating in any form of   organised learning, while an estimated 30,000 vulnerable Jordanian children were also out of school.