Summer school helps children make up for missed school days

AMMAN — More than 3,000 school students are currently enrolled in the “Summer School Programme” initiated by the Ministry of Education and supported by UNICEF, with the aim of providing students with additional classes to help them complete their academic year.

The programme aims to have students who were not able to enrol in schools during the first semester last year complete their classes, organisers said. 

During a press tour organised by UNICEF to Ghaziah Al Ameriah School in Jabal Al Taj, teachers said the programme provides students with classes in all subjects from the Jordanian curriculum, according to their academic levels, in order to help them move on to the next grade in the next academic year. 

In this school, there are around 152 children enrolled in this programme, according to school board member Haytham Tawrah.

The students are brought from many public schools across the Kingdom, Tawrah said, adding that, on August 24, students will take an exam to provide official results to the departments involved in following up on their education, with data then added to the ministry’s system.

Nine-year-old Duaa said she aims to pursue studying medicine at university.

“I was four years old when I left Syria… I only remember queuing up on the Jordanian border. Learning makes me want to work hard to become a physician when I grow up, as my favourite subject in school is science,” she told The Jordan Times.

Meanwhile, Khaled has been living in Jordan with his family for almost a year, after fleeing his home in Syria’s Aleppo. 

He said he would also want to become a doctor to help people in his community in the future.

Iman, a 13-year-old Syrian child also from Aleppo, aspires to work as a journalist to report events and interview officials.

“My family always tell me that I should either become a journalist or a lawyer, but I want to become a journalist to talk about what is happening around the world,” Iman told The Jordan Times.

Currently, there are 45 schools in Jordan involved in the programme, spread over several areas and governorates and inside Syrian refugee camps. They aim to ensure better education for all children residing in Jordan, regardless of their nationality and to provide them with a better future, organisers said.

The school’s principal, Maysoon Zyoud, said there are classes from grade one to grade 10, with 13 sections in total.

She added that teachers not only focus on the subjects set by the national curriculum, but also try to include extracurricular activities for the children.

The Summer School Programme started on July 2 and will continue until August 24, with classes running from Saturday to Thursday from 8am to 2pm.

More than 126,000 Syrian children are currently enrolled in public schools in Jordan.

UNICEF Jordan and the Ministry of Education are scheduled to launch the “Learning For All” Initiative next week to ensure all children residing in Jordan are registered in schools.