By Jalal Abu Saleh and Zainab AL-Khalil
On World Children's Day, which falls on 20 November each year, children's rights and the importance of enabling them to lead a dignified life that befits their humanity are highlighted. This year's theme is "Listen to the future! Stand up for Children's Rights", which focuses on education as a central right, embodying hope for a bright future, especially for children facing challenges that prevent them from accessing quality education opportunities.
Education Experts emphasize the need to reach quality education for all children, starting from early childhood, the most important stage in building the child's personality, analytical abilities, and awareness of the world around them, leading to exploring appropriate ways for children to express themselves, their thoughts, and their feelings, as well as the importance of creating a developed and positive mindset that helps them deal with their challenges, in addition to supporting their acquisition of Arabic language skills.
Many Arab and international studies and reports from institutions specialized in education and child upbringing summarize the most important educational problems and challenges facing the Arab world, taking into account clear differences between countries, at the educational level, with the escalation of civil wars and political instability, as is the case in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, and others.
Most Arab countries, including Jordan, suffer from the low quality of education outcomes and their incompatibility with the labor market needs, as well as structural distortions, not to mention the problem of illiteracy that is increasing alarmingly in many countries due to the deterioration of the political and security situation and the lack of stability in those countries. The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) reveals that the illiteracy rate in the Arab countries is 27.1% compared to 16% worldwide.
According to ALECSO, the number of illiterates in the Arab world is close to 54 million, a number that is likely to rise, given the deteriorating educational conditions and crises in the region, in addition to the armed conflicts that have so far prevented about 13.5 million Arab children from enrolling in formal education.
Education in Jordan: Quantitative Progress and Qualitative Challenges
Over the past hundred years, Jordan has witnessed remarkable development in education, utilizing its human resources to compensate for the scarcity of natural resources. Although Jordan ranks fifth in the Arab world and 45th globally, according to the Global Education Quality Index issued by the World Economic Forum in Davos for 2021, and although this ranking is considered relatively advanced, there are worrying indicators.
Recent reports showed that the Kingdom's ranking in the quality of education has declined, mainly in school education, according to some international classifications and standards such as the PISA test, which indicated that Jordan has become among the seven lowest ranking countries in the world. After Jordan achieved a higher ranking in the 2018 assessment, where it ranked second in the Arab world after the UAE, the results released recently in 2023 showed that it fell to the bottom of the list of Arab countries, as all Arab countries, except Morocco, came ahead of Jordan.
In quantitative terms, Jordan has 7,434 schools serving more than two million students, including (3,865 affiliated with the Ministry of Education), (3,354 schools affiliated with private education), (169 UNRWA schools), and (46 other public schools). Meanwhile, the number of students in the Kingdom reached (2114719 male and female students), and the number of teachers reached (136062 teachers). This goes to show that despite the increase in the number of schools and educational institutions, the outputs of education are not in line with the requirements of the labor market and modern variables.
Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD): A firm belief in the importance of advancing education
Since its founding in 2008, the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) has embraced the issue of education as a key part of its strategy to support human rights and development, focusing on: The educational renaissance strategy "Towards inclusive and integrated formal education in Jordan": The organization has developed a strategy aimed at enhancing access to quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all as a key pillar for poverty alleviation and activating sustainable social transformation.
ARDD has also focused on promoting access to inclusive education, through the implementation of projects such as "Investing in the Future", "Education for the Future", "Promoting Learning to Improve Life Chances for Students in Jordan", and through initiatives such as "Empowering Each Other", "Universal Access to Justice for Children", "Haquna (Our Right)" and others. The organization targeted the less fortunate, including refugees and children with disabilities.
By way of coordinating national efforts to improve education; the organization launched the National Alliance for the Future of Education in Jordan (NAFE) In 2017, as a platform to promote education reform efforts and ensure access to inclusive and sustainable education.
As for influential partnerships, ARDD has taken part in many activities, events, and workshops related to the educational process and its advancement, where it played an influential and effective role in enriching discussions and integrating efforts.
Sustainable educational development for a better future
Finally, addressing educational challenges requires joint work between governments, civil society organizations, the private sector, and individuals to achieve inclusive and sustainable education for all, as the main priorities include developing curricula to be more in line with the requirements of the times and the labor market, and empowering teachers through continuous training programs that enhance their capabilities and keep pace with global developments. The inclusion of marginalized groups, including persons with disabilities and children affected by conflict, is also essential to promote equity in education.
It is also important to include environmental and climate change issues in school curricula, as an essential step to ensure the sustainability of education and its role in addressing future environmental challenges. Improving education also requires dialogue and exchanging experiences between different actors, as well as the provision of the necessary resources, in addition to reviewing and developing accountability and educational quality systems to evaluate performance and ensure progress.
Moreover, training and qualifying young people to invest in their skills is a crucial step in enhancing their opportunities for economic and political participation, while recognizing non-formal education as a tool for development. With these joint efforts, an inclusive education system can be built that contributes to sustainable development and a bright future for all, and the importance of commitment to children's rights to education, health, and protection.
Because children are the future, ensuring their right to education is an investment in the future of our societies and nations. Let us listen to their voices, stand with them, and act for them.
