Bassema Abu Shammaleh and Tshepo Tlhacoane, on behalf of the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS), were in attendance as the Education Sector Working Group met at the Jordan Country Office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Amman, Jordan.
The Working Group, which is chaired by UNICEF, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and the Queen Rania Foundation, aims to:
- Be a forum for coordination and information-sharing for relevant organizations and institutions to support the access and equity of education for children, adolescents, and youth
- Plan and monitor, in close coordination with the Jordanian Ministry of Education, the enhancement of the education system’s capacity, by planning, implementing, and monitoring educational interventions
- To generate relevant data and research evidence, and to share it in a timely manner
- To ensure that evidence and data that is collected is used to advocate for equitable access to education for children, adolescents, and youth in Jordan; and
- To act as a knowledge-sharing platform to reflect members’ technical experiences.
This meeting primarily focused on electing the co-chairs of the Working Group. Member organizations were given an opportunity to formally express their interest and make presentations on their suitability to co-chair the Working Group. Other members of the Working Group will then vote for their preferred candidate over the next week.
In addition to the election, the meeting contained a presentation by UNHCR on their Socio-Economic Survey on Refugees in Jordan, also known as their VAF survey, which is set to be released at the end of April. In their presentation, UNHCR colleagues presented the key findings of the VAF survey which were related to education, and discussed enrolment rates, barriers to enrolment, and in-school challenges.
ACHRS would like to thank members of the Education Sector Working Group for their commitment to ensure equity and access to education for all in order to ensure that no one is left behind. ACHRS is keenly aware of the critical role that education plays in the full realization of other rights and freedoms, and we will continue to work with all relevant actors to advance the access of quality education for all in Jordan and the Arab Region.
