Jordan’s private schools, 10th grade vocational programmes begin new academic year

AMMAN — Jordan’s private schools witnessed the commencement of the new 2023-2024 academic year on Sunday as approximately 600,000 students returned to the classroom. 

The Ministry of Education’s spokesperson Ahmad Masa’feh told The Jordan Times that this year, the ministry introduced a distinct academic calendar for private schools. 

“While public schools already commenced classes on August 20, private schools will follow their unique academic calendar, beginning today [Sunday] and concluding on June 15 next year,” Masa’feh said. 

Masa’feh clarified that the first semester will encompass 96 school days, while the second semester will have 99 days, bringing the total number of school days in the new academic year to almost 195 days, aligning with the regulations defined in Article 40 of the Ministry of Education Law No. 3 of 1994.

Approximately 25,000 private school students were transferred to public schools, and around 11,000 public school students transferred to private institutions this year, the spokesperson said.

Masa’feh also noted that students pursuing vocational education in the “BTEC” programme offered in public schools also embarked on their academic journey on Sunday. 

“Almost 18,000 tenth grade students have enrolled in vocational education programmes for the first time, following the implementation of the academic and technical-vocational tracks, to be chosen after the ninth grade,” Masa’feh added. 

Vocational education students are distributed across six branches, which include: Engineering, Business Administration, Information Technology, Hospitality and Hotel Management, Cosmetology and Agriculture, according to Masa’feh.

The 18,000 students enrolled in the vocational track exceeded the ministry’s expectations, denoting a shift in social attitudes around a technical education, he said. 

Coinciding with the back to school season, The Jordan Times spoke with a number of employees and owners of stationary stores, many of whom described this year’s demand for school supplies as “not bad”.

“I sold well this season; it was better than the past three seasons,” Akram Orabi, the owner of a stationery store, told The Jordan Times. 

Suhail Qutati, who works at a stationery store, told The Jordan Times that her store witnessed a surge in demand this year in comparison with last year.