Jordan’s education reform strategy focuses on the country’s most
valuable resource, Jordanians, as a national priority. The
country boasts a literacy rate of 93.3 percent and a secondary
school completion rate of 77 percent, and has steadily increased
access, especially for girls, expanding availability of
kindergarten in public education. Still, the Jordanian
government recognizes that quality is uneven and not competitive
by international standards, particularly in poorer areas.
Pressures of a growing, young population and the inclusion of
refugee children in schools stresses facilities, many of which
are poorly maintained. The government is working to reform the
national curriculum and teaching methods, but many secondary and
university graduates’ abilities do not yet match the
requirements of the labor market or community. The U.S. and
Jordan partnered to conduct the first teacher and technical
training in the 1950s and went on to build schools, create
libraries and send thousands of Jordanians to study a