Some 30,000 Jordanian children are school dropouts — researcher

AMMAN — Some 30,000 Jordanian children between the ages of six and 15 are school dropouts, according to Ahmad Qablan, senior programmes manager at Queen Rania Teacher Academy.

Qablan, who is also associate professor at the Hashemite University, was citing official figures.

Speaking at a seminar organised Thursday by the Jordan Society for Scientific Research, he said UNESCO puts the number of dropouts at 180,000, counting Jordanian and non-Jordanian children.

More than 60,000 Syrian refugee children are out of school, Qablan added.

Citing a study he conducted on the issue, Qablan said 41 per cent of children under the age of five years who are supposed to be in kindergarten are not enrolled in these levels, which is dangerous because they are “very important”.

Therefore, he called for improving education quality and transportation to schools and making kindergarten levels obligatory.

Qablan said family problems, high divorce rates, and parents’ focus on work and neglecting their children are all factors that lead to children dropping out of school.

He added that some dropouts are people with disabilities who do not go to school due to lack of accessibility.

The academic criticised how schools merge students with disabilities with other students when there are no specialised teachers qualified to deal with them.

He said only 5 per cent of the gross domestic product is spent on education, which is not enough.

Education must be developed in a way that makes schools attractive for students, Qablan said, calling for introducing a parallel education system for those who grew up without enrolling in schools.