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AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday approved the mandating reasons for an amended law to endorse the oil shale surface retorting agreement with Saudi Arabian Company for Oil Shale, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The amendment comes in line with the government’s strategy to encourage investment in Jordanian oil shale and to enable investing companies to overcome challenges caused by the regional instability and the drop in oil prices. The amendment also follows the national strategy of energy, which seeks to diversify energy sources.

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday approved an agreement between Jordan and China to establish a cultural centre in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The Cabinet assigned the culture minister to sign the agreement, according to the Culture Law 2006. The agreement aims to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries in various fields, according to Petra.  

AMMAN — The Education Ministry on Sunday announced it will start receiving applications from students who wish to sit for the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination’s (Tawjihi) winter session between October 8 and 31.

Regular students can apply through their schools, while private school students and those who have to sit for some additional courses can apply through education directorates, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Those who exhausted their right to retake the exam for the academic years of 2014 through 2017, and failed in five courses or less can also apply for the Tawjihi’s winter session. 

AMMAN — Civil Defence Department (CDD) Director Maj. Gen. Mustafa Bazaiah and the Chinese military attaché in Jordan on Sunday discussed several issues related to the work of the CDD and means to exchange expertise in relevant fields.

The military attaché praised the “advanced level” of the CDD, highlighting the good relations between Jordan and China in the civil protection and civil defence areas, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Sunday warned the public against a new modus operandi used in several robberies of shops and companies, urging shop owners to be more vigilant.

The Public Security Department’s (PSD) media centre said that a special CID team was formed to investigate 57 cases in which crowbars were used to break into shops whose owners closed them with only glass doors, leaving the roller shutters opened.

The team identified the suspect after a month of investigation that included analysing the modus operandi and collecting evidence from crime scenes, according to a PSD statement.

After the arrest, the suspect confessed to carrying out the robberies in shops in question, in addition to several other shops whose owners did not file any complaint, the PSD said, adding that investigation was still ongoing.

AMMAN — Lower House First Deputy Speaker, Khamis Atiyeh, on Sunday, announced the launch of an initiative  titled “My Step” that aims at developing the educational environment and renovating public schools with donations from the private sector.

Atiyeh said that the initiative, which was launched in cooperation with Senator Hayfa Najjar, has finished the maintenance of two schools, while work is still under way to renovate others in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The lawmaker noted that stakeholders will hold a ceremony next month to officially launch the project. 

AMMAN — Industry, Trade and Supply Ministry’s Secretary General Yousef Shamali on Sunday said that Jordan is “the main gateway” of the Palestinian economy, as it enables Palestinian goods to reach other Arab countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During a technical preparatory meeting for the Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Joint Committee, Shamali said that the two countries’ volume of trade is modest due to the measures taken by Israel.

The volume of trade exchange between the two countries amounted to $178 million last year, compared with $156 million in 2015, he noted. 

AMMAN — The Income and Sales Tax Department on Sunday urged taxpayers to subscribe to the e-services provided by the department to facilitate their payment of the income and sales tax.

In a statement published on its website, the department said taxpayers will be able to calculate the overdue tax immediately through the online system.

The department emphasised that taxpayers are expected to use the e-payment system to pay their outstanding balances, noting that it will save them the cost and effort of going to the department’s offices. 

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki has approved a recommendation by concerned officials to allow Syrian refugees who do not possess the required documents to enrol in government schools, officials have announced. 

To be able to join formal education in the Kingdom, Syrians have to present a special ID card issued by the Interior Ministry indicating their status as refugees. 

In exclusive remarks to Al Rai and The Jordan Times, Education Minister Omar Razzaz said that the decision is consistent with the government’s policy not to leave any children without education “because we do not want anyone to lose their right to education”.

In remarks to The Jordan Times, State Minister for Media Affairs and Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani said: “In line with our value system in Jordan, we do not accept that any child be left out without education.”

“Education is among a string of services provided to Syrian refugees from the moment they are received on border,” the minister said, renewing a call on the international community to ensure proportionate assistance for Jordan to continue carrying out its humanitarian mission.   

Asked if the new numbers would add to the problem of crowding at schools, he said that the newcomers would join afternoon periods in double-shift schools, where there is no such a problem. 

In an exclusive statement to The Jordan Times, UNICEF Representative Robert Jenkins said: “We would like to congratulate the government of Jordan for this bold and positive step forwards towards ensuring that every vulnerable girl and boy in Jordan goes to school. 

“UNICEF stands by the Ministry of Education in doing everything we can for every child to access quality education and get a fair chance in preparing for a better future for themselves and their families.”

 In addition to expanding schools in Syrian refugee camps, the Ministry of Education has opened a total of 200 schools operating double shifts to offer formal education to young refugees, according to UNICEF. Catch-up education programmes are also being rolled out to reach children who have missed more than three years of schooling, for them to accelerate their learning, and enroll in the formal system, the agency has said in a report. 

In Jordan, according to official figures, more than 126,000 Syrian children were receiving education in public schools last year, while 80,000 were out of school, for different reasons, including the fact that they did not have the necessary identification documents. There is no official estimate of how many children would benefit from the new policy.  

According to a report by Save the Children, 35 per cent of the 4.8 million Syrian refugees in the region are of school age. Whereas before the conflict 94 per cent of Syrians attended primary or lower secondary school by June 2017, 43 per cent of Syrian refugees were out of school. “This is in fact an increase from 34 per cent in December 2016,” according to the organisation. 

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury on Sunday called on the UN and other organisations to report their refugee-related projects to the Jordan Response Information System for the Syria Crisis (JORISS).

The remark came during his participation in a workshop organised by his ministry for the 12 sector groups of the Jordan Response Plan (JRP) to the Syrian crisis at the Dead Sea, according to a ministry statement.

The workshop aims to enhance cooperation among the groups, identify each group's goals and prepare projects' summaries to update JRP for 2018-2020.

During the gathering, Fakhoury said that Jordan has become a role model in dealing with the refugee crisis through employing expertise and identifying the priority projects to support the refugees and the host communities.

The JRP groups include representative of ministries, donor countries, UN and non-governmental organisations.

The three-day workshop will include drafting JRP projects related to the needs of refugees and host communities.

Fakhoury stressed the government’s keenness on cooperation with the international community to set the priorities in dealing with the Syrian crisis and mitigating its effects on Jordan.

He noted that Crown Prince Hussein’s speech at the UN General Assembly has clearly summarised such an impact.

Fakhoury said that Jordan hosts 13 per cent of the total registered refugees in the world, which puts it at the top of the world’s list of host countries. The refugee community constitutes more than 29 per cent of the Kingdom’s population, which, he said, is the highest ratio worldwide.

The direct financial impact of the crisis is estimated at around $2 billion annually, which is equivalent to 20 per cent of the total annual national revenue and 5 per cent of the GDP, according to the minister.

Fakhoury noted that the Jordanian delegation to the UN General Assembly has attended several related meetings, including one with the EU to follow up on Brussels Donor Conference on Syria this year.

Fakhoury said that the Jordan and the EU have agreed on holding “Brussels Conference 2” in April 2018 to ensure the continuity of support to host countries.

He noted that Jordan has adopted a resilience-supporting approach instead of dealing with the situation only as a crisis, as it affects all aspects of life.

He reiterated a call on the international community to honour its commitments to supporting the host countries in addressing the refugee crisis.

Fakhoury said that JORISS was created to institutionalise action in a professional and transparent manner, with this including the tracking of funding and reporting project progress reports.

He pointed to a report by the Human Rights Watch, which indicates that the Planning Ministry is the only party among host countries that publishes updates on aid related to the Syrian crisis.    

Despite the improvement in the fund levels, Fakhoury said that there is still a financing gap that reached 38 per cent during 2016 compared to 30 per cent in the previous years.

The planning minister stressed the importance of distributing burdens justly among countries in light of the fact that Jordan is handling a large share of the mission, with indirect effects of the crisis estimated by the UNDP at $3.5 billion annually.

For his part, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan Anders Pedersen commended Jordan’s model in dealing with the crisis through connecting the humanitarian needs of the refugees to empowering the host communities.