Ministry of Education and UN Jordan observe the Intl. Day of Education

Amman - The Ministry of Education (MoE) and the United Nations on Tuesday hosted a one-day conference to convey the outcomes and Jordan’s commitments to the Transforming Education Summit (TES), convened by the UN Secretary General last year in response to the global learning crisis.

Titled “Post-Transforming Education Summit”, the conference was organized with support from UNESCO and UNICEF to observe the International Day of Education, which is celebrated this year with a call for maintaining strong political mobilization around education to chart the way to translate commitments during the global summit and global initiatives into action.

During the opening ceremony, Minister of Education Azmi Mahafzah said education is a fundamental human right due to its "unique ability to develop knowledge, behavior, and values needed in communities to build a just, sustainable, and prosperous future."

Jordan's commitment came as part of a response to the global post-pandemic education crisis regarding equality, comprehensiveness, and quality, he added, indicating the need to renew global financial and political commitment to education and forge ahead with achieving the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4), which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

For his part, Dominik Bartsch, the UN Resident Coordinator a.i. stated: “We must reimagine education systems to enable all children and young people to reach their full potential. We must ensure that learning empowers individuals and societies to both reshape the present and lead us to a more just, sustainable, resilient, and peaceful future.”

The event brought together over 80 participants from the government and non-government organizations, UN agencies, development partners, civil society organizations and youth, where Jordan’s National Statement of Commitment to transform education towards the achievement of SDG4 ‘Education for All’ was presented. Participants also discussed ways to scaleup efforts and mobilize further partnerships to support Jordan in implementing these commitments and for translating this commitment into action.

Jordan’s commitments include the universalization of Kindergarten 2 providing enabling, safe, healthy, and accessible learning environments and support systems for all children, with special emphasis on children vulnerable to exclusion from and within education; adopting preventive measures for future potential crises, through the development of a risk and crisis management strategy; optimizing the planning of school infrastructure, maintenance and resources to accommodate increased demand, safety and accessibility for all; further investing in the MoE’s Education Management Information System for evidence-based policy making; and reforming the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system, to enhance quality and relevance, and respond to the requirements of the labour market.

During the event, speakers and panelists highlighted that to advance progress towards SDG4 and to invest in people and bring out their full potential, education and training must be prioritized, whilst political will and financial commitment must be maintained.

The panel deliberations validated the priority areas for action in Jordan for the transforming education agenda and discussed how to translate them into action through mobilization, including political and financial, and further alignment. The conference concluded by renewing Jordan’s commitment to accelerate progress towards SDG4 and to ensure the right of children and young people to quality education and lifelong learning.