Education experts call for more support to adult education

AMMAN — Although adult education boosts social equality and is key to honing the skills of individuals and improving their economic opportunities, it is not receiving sufficient support, according to field experts. 

In interviews with The Jordan Times on Tuesday on the sidelines of a discussion panel on adult education implemented by the Middle East Network on Innovative Teaching and Learning (MENIT), experts said that this type of education targets all individuals over 18 years of age, regardless of their educational or professional backgrounds.

Former education minister Ibrahim Badran said adult education centres across the world, including illiteracy eradication centres, schools, colleges and universities, seek to introduce learners to the latest scientific, technical and professional trends.

Badran added that only 53 per cent of Jordan’s population has received secondary education, while around 15 per cent hold university degrees, a ratio that he described as “very low”.  

“The future of society depends on giving all its members the opportunity to receive education,” he said, adding that promoting adult education is an implementation of the Kingdom’s social and economic development policies, which seek to deepen democracy.   

Badran cited the lack of adult education centres across the country, in addition to poor private and public support, and the lack of awareness of as the main obstacles hindering the wider implementation of adult education.

Supported by the German Development Cooperation, MENIT was created in 2011 with the aim of supporting educational experts in their efforts to improve graduates’ capabilities in critical analysis and creative thinking.

Stressing the importance of vocational training, Hani Khlaifat, Vocational Training Corporation (VTC) assistant director general, said it is the fastest and easiest way through which an individual can achieve financial stability.

“Anyone who receives vocational training can start a self-employment project or get a real job opportunity in a project or a factory,” he told The Jordan Times.

Khlaifat added that the VTC’s 40 centres across the Kingdom accept trainees over 16 years old without setting an age limit to allow the maximum number of individuals to benefit from its services.

Commenting on the role of adult education in social development, Rifaat Sabbah, representative of the Arab Campaign for Education for All, said it can address certain social issues in depth in order to change people’s mindsets.

“Formal education does not address the role of women in the public domain or gender equality,” Sabbah said, noting that adult training in this case can bridge a gap in formal education by addressing similar issues crucial to social development.

However, the Palestine-based activist criticised “elitist adult education programmes”, calling for including the “marginalised” public in creating the curricula of adult education programmes to cover the areas that they need.