Budget cuts take toll on Irbid schools

AMMAN — The reduction of the Irbid Governorate Council’s budget for the second time this year from JD24 million to JD4 million will “lead to the cancellation of important projects, most important of which is the construction of new schools”, according to the head of the Irbid Governorate Council Omar Magableh.

Magableh said in a phone interview with The Jordan Times that the building of new schools instead of existing schools that “fall on children’s heads and have been renovated more than once without success” is his biggest concern regarding the budget cuts.

The governorate’s budget was reduced for the first time this year due to the coronavirus crisis from JD24 million to JD8 million, and then it was reduced again to JD4 million, he said.

Magableh said that a large portion of a school’s wall was damaged seven months ago with the relevant committees recommending the construction of a new school instead.

“Allocations were made for that in the council’s budget, but now with the budget cuts it will be impossible to carry out the project and the old school poses a great risk to students,” he added.

The council’s head  expected the transfer of thousands of students from private schools to government schools due to the economic conditions implicated by the crisis, which he said  would “lead to overcrowding in classrooms.”

All projects to build new classrooms are suspended for now, with the exception of ones that began last year and have not been completed yet, according to Magableh, who also noted that “many government schools need to enlarge classroom space to cope with the already present overcrowding in their classrooms.”

The debt accumulated by the council for its projects in previous years amounts to more than JD7 million, with the council’s head indicating that the current budget will be used to pay part of the dues to contractors.

“There  are also health centres that need renovation, in addition to many other service institutions that are dilapidated and need immediate attention,” said Magableh.

He highlighted that Irbid is “full of tourist and archeological sites, but it is neglected and there is no official interest, which leads to a lack of projects that would attract hikers and generate income for the government.”

The budget cuts also “caused the cancellation of dozens of tourism projects in Irbid that would have been implemented this year to develop tourism in the governorate and establish tourist paths.”