USAID launches Non-Formal Education programme

AMMAN — The government and USAID on Sunday launched the Non-Formal Education (NFE) programme at a centre in Maan, some 220km south of Amman.

The USAID-funded NFE programme will expand to 28 new school-based centres to enrol an additional 1,680 boys and girls, strengthen programme management at 88 centres, and train 230 facilitators, according to a USAID statement. 

The project is implemented by Questscope, an international NGO dedicated to transforming the future of young people and communities.

NFE is an Education Ministry-certified two-year programme that incorporates participatory learning, youth empowerment and academic growth. 

The programme serves out-of-school youths in Jordan between the ages of 13 and 20, "giving them a second chance to continue their education and paving the way to a brighter future", the statement said.

Graduates of NFE are eligible to earn a certificate of completion, which is officially recognised by the Education Ministry as fulfilling entry requirements to the professional level of vocational training. 

The NFE certificate also provides a continued pathway for education, as it allows for students to take the ninth grade test and begin homeschooling at the 10th grade level, if they desire.

Mona Yacoubian, deputy assistant administrator for USAID, and USAID Mission Director Jim Barnhart attended the launch ceremony, according to the statement.