400 young people awarded 10th-grade equivalency certificates

AMMAN — A graduation ceremony was held on Wednesday for 400 youths from USAID’s Non-Formal Education Programme.

The ceremony was held under the patronage of Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Walid Maani, and with the attendance of USAID’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Middle East Bureau Jason Foley, according to a USAID statement. 

The 400 graduates, hailing from 28 non-formal education centres across Jordan, were awarded with 10th-grade equivalency certificates accredited by the Ministry of Education.

Through the USAID programme, youth aged 13-20 who dropped out of the formal education system take two years of coursework with flexible school hours to earn their 10th-grade equivalency certificate. 

The certificate fulfils entry requirements for graduates to pursue secondary education or vocational training opportunities, according to the statement, which added that USAID partners with the Ministry of Education and NGO Questscope to deliver the programme.

The project aims to eventually provide over 3,500 out-of-school youths with a second chance to continue their education and access better employment opportunities, the statement said.

Almost two-thirds of Jordan’s population is under the age of 30, the statement said, adding that in November, USAID also launched the three-year “Training for Employment Activity” to train 6,000 jobseekers and place at least 80 per cent of successful trainees into jobs in partnership with Luminus Technical University College, Education for Employment Jordan and the Technical Vocational Training Academy.