Ministry of Education, UNESCO holds Joint Education Strategic Plan Annual Review

Amman – Under the Patronage of the Minister of Education, H.E. Prof. Azmi Mahafzah, the Ministry of Education (MOE) kicked-off a two-day joint review of the progress made in 2022 in implementing its Education Strategic Plan (ESP) with education stakeholders and partners.

In preparation for the event, which includes participants from the Royal Hashemite Court, the Prime Minister’s Performance and Delivery Unit (PMDU), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Planning and International Coordination, education sector partners and stakeholders, the MoE published its ESP annual report for 2022.

The report, which forms the basis for the annual review meeting, summarizes progress on all six ESP domains (Early Childhood Education, Access, and Equity, System Strengthening, Quality, Human Resources and TVET) in 2022, while identifying key challenges and recommendations that will inform strategic planning for 2023/2024. The ESP annual report states that 2022 was marked with recovery from the adverse effects of Covid-19, and significant progress in all ESP domains are noted despite the number of priorities that remain to be addressed in the education sector, such as Technical and Vocational Education and Training or universalization of KG2.

The joint annual review meeting will provide MoE staff and education stakeholders in Jordan with the chance to exchange on these conclusions, and further identify key actions that can jointly be taken to achieve the Kingdom’s educational goals. Among those are the need to set up the necessary foundations to achieve compulsory and free KG2, further investment in communication and IT infrastructures, scaling up teacher training, and reforming the national TVET system.

Joint renewed commitments to the right to education for all was done by MoE and partners, in line with SDG4 to ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all “and the National Commitment of Jordan at the UN Transforming Education Summit (TES) in September 2022. The meeting will also be an opportunity for policy dialogue on key issues of education financing, partnership, and coordination.

Gender equality in education will also be a central thematic area of the discussions in the next two days. Both in terms of progress made, as well as taking the opportunity to share the results of the mid-term review of the implementation of the ESP’s Strategy for Gender Equality in education (SMGEE) and to discuss the update of the related Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP). Progress on gender issues in education has been observed in Jordan, but there are still persistent challenges, including a reverse gender gap in education, with lower attendance and performance recorded amongst boys.

During the opening of the joint annual review, His Excellency said “We have a strong determination to progress together, while striving to realize the goals of the Public Sector Modernization and Economic Modernization Vision, while building upon our achievements in the education sector. Our objective is to enhance the quality, competitiveness, and outcomes of the educational process across all levels, aligning them with the national priorities, and standards to ensure sustainable development and modernization”.

The co-chairs of the Education Development Partners Group also commended the Ministry of Education for all the work that has been done under the ESP, especially in ensuring that refugees are included within the ESP. “There is a need to continue ensuring that inclusion of refugees (Syrian and non-Syrian), girls and disabilities is prioritised across the education sector, directorates schools and within the systems”.

The support provided to the MoE for the development of their 2022 ESP annual review report is part of ongoing technical assistance to the MoE by UNESCO and its International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) under the System Strengthening Partnership (SSP), currently being implemented under a Multi-partner Trust Fund (MPFT) supported by Canada, the Italian Agency for Development and Cooperation (AICS), Norway, and Switzerland.