Amman — Expanding education plans and increasing the number of programs and initiatives are not enough to judge the success of education reform in Jordan. The real measure is what students learn, the extent to which they have equal opportunities, and the school’s ability to prepare them for life and work.
This highlights the importance of the 2026-2030 Education Plan, launched by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), at a time when learning achievement indicators continue to reveal deep gaps.
Addressing these gaps requires more than curriculum development and infrastructure upgrades; it calls for a review of the effectiveness of the entire education process.
The education sector faces a real test over whether the transformation plan contains a set of interventions that will ultimately produce tangible improvements in school performance, or whether its results will remain tied to the number of programs implemented and buildings upgraded, without improvements proportionate to the scale of effort and spending.
Learning Gap: The Most Urgent Indicator
Jordan’s results in the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), published in September 2026, reveal the scale of the challenge. Only 26% of Jordanian students reached the minimum proficiency level in reading, compared with 31% in mathematics and 48% in science.
The corresponding averages across OECD countries were 69%, 65% and 74%, respectively.
These figures mean that the majority of Jordanian students have not reached the basic level required in reading and mathematics. Science results were relatively better, but still well below the international average.
Despite improvements compared with the 2022 results, the existing gap confirms that recovery in some indicators does not mean the problem has been overcome. Reform requires interventions targeting core learning skills rather than simply modifying curricula or introducing new tools into classrooms.
The significance of these results extends beyond international examinations. They are linked to students’ ability to understand texts, think logically, solve problems and continue learning at later stages. Weaknesses in these skills also affect opportunities in higher education, training and employment, while deepening disparities among students according to their family and school circumstances.
The plan should therefore establish clear indicators for measuring improvements in reading, mathematics and science and link educational interventions to publicly reported outcomes, while identifying the groups and schools most in need of support. The success of reform should not be measured by what is added to the curriculum, but by what students become capable of understanding and applying.
Educational Equity: Beyond School Numbers
Education gaps are not limited to academic achievement. They also extend to differences in the conditions in which students learn. Overcrowding, double-shift systems, unequal facilities and difficulties in providing an appropriate school environment all limit teachers’ ability to follow up with students and meet their needs, while affecting the time and quality of learning.
Official data indicate that the double-shift system continues to operate in around 800 public schools, reflecting pressure on Jordan’s education capacity. Addressing this challenge, however, should not be limited to constructing more buildings or redistributing students. It requires examining disparities between regions, class sizes, the availability of laboratories and facilities, and the actual time allocated for teaching.
This becomes particularly important when considering differences between schools in the capital and those in outlying areas, as well as between different socioeconomic environments. A student attending a school with inadequate facilities or limited space does not begin from the same conditions as a student attending a better-equipped school.
If the plan fails to account for these differences, expanding programs could improve opportunities for some students while leaving those most in need outside the circle of benefit.
In general, the government plan needs a detailed map of educational needs by region and school, along with clear criteria for allocating resources according to the scale of the problem rather than general expansion alone.
Educational equity is not achieved by providing everyone with the same service, but by ensuring students have equal learning opportunities while giving schools with the greatest needs the resources required to narrow the gap.
Teachers: The Core of Reform
No education plan can achieve sustainable transformation without placing teachers at the heart of the development process. Modern curricula and digital technologies do not automatically produce better learning; their effectiveness depends on teachers’ ability to use them, identify students’ difficulties, diversify teaching methods and assess skills rather than focusing primarily on information.
PISA 2025 data indicate that principals of schools attended by 39% of students reported that teacher shortages hindered teaching to some extent, compared with 57% in 2022.
Although the percentage has declined, it remains an indicator of a challenge that cannot be addressed through training alone. Professional development requires a stable working environment, fair teacher distribution and alignment between specializations and schools’ actual needs.
There is also a need to distinguish between teacher training as an activity carried out by the ministry and the impact of that training on classroom practices and student outcomes.
The number of courses and participants is not enough to determine the success of professional development programs unless it is accompanied by measurements of changes in teaching methods, teachers’ ability to address poor achievement and the extent to which they receive continuous professional support.
Education reform also requires strengthening the status of teachers, reducing duties unrelated directly to teaching, and involving them in curriculum development and program evaluation.
Teachers are the foundation of the education process, and those who lack the necessary tools, time and support cannot be expected to compensate on their own for structural weaknesses within schools.
Digital Transformation and AI: An Opportunity Requiring Oversight
Digital development presents another challenge for the plan: moving beyond providing devices and platforms toward building students’ ability to use them for learning, research and analysis.
PISA 2025 results show that 41% of Jordanian students use AI-powered chatbots to assist with learning at least once a week, compared with an average of 46% across OECD countries.
This reflects the growing presence of these tools in students’ lives, but it does not by itself prove that their use improves learning.
Benefiting from such tools requires skills in verifying information, distinguishing accurate answers from misleading ones, respecting academic integrity, protecting privacy and narrowing the digital divide between students who have access to devices and internet connectivity and those who do not.
Digital transformation should therefore not be limited to introducing technology into classrooms or training students to use specific applications. It should be linked to a defined educational objective and subject to evaluation that measures its impact on achievement and critical thinking.
Technology that does not address a clear educational problem could become an additional cost rather than a tool for improving learning.
Schools and the Labor Market: A Gap Curricula Alone Cannot Close
Education quality is also linked to the system’s ability to prepare students for the requirements of economic and social life. This does not mean reducing the role of schools to simply meeting labor-market needs, but rather ensuring that graduates possess basic, digital and language skills, as well as the ability to continue learning and adapt to changes in the workplace.
This requires reviewing the connection between curricula and practical application, expanding problem-solving and teamwork-based learning opportunities, strengthening early career guidance and developing cooperation between schools, training institutions and employers.
It also requires continuous assessment of the skills needed by the Jordanian economy rather than assuming that qualifications alone are sufficient to guarantee employment opportunities.
However, aligning education with the labor market is not the responsibility of schools alone. Employment is also affected by the economy’s ability to create suitable jobs, wage levels, working conditions and investment opportunities.
Education reform should therefore not be presented as a stand-alone solution to unemployment. Instead, its role in narrowing the skills gap and improving young people’s readiness for current and future opportunities should be emphasized.
Accountability: From Activities to Outcomes
The most important challenge facing the 2026-2030 plan remains how to measure its success.
Reports that track the number of upgraded schools, programs implemented, teachers trained and devices distributed provide information about implementation, but they do not necessarily reveal how much learning, equity or graduate readiness has improved.
To prevent the plan from becoming a list of administrative achievements, it needs clearly defined and publicly announced performance indicators covering improvements in reading, mathematics and science, reductions in disparities between schools and regions, lower overcrowding where it constitutes an obstacle, improved teacher competencies and measurements of technology’s impact on learning.
Results should be published regularly, the reasons for setbacks explained, and responsibilities and corrective measures clearly identified.
This also requires defining each indicator, establishing measurable targets and creating independent mechanisms for verifying results, while involving teachers, parents and students in evaluating the school environment.
Accountability does not simply mean holding institutions responsible for what they failed to implement; it means determining whether public resources have made a real difference in students’ lives.
From the Plan to the Classroom
The 2026-2030 Education Plan represents an opportunity to reorder priorities and address accumulated weaknesses. Its value, however, will not be determined by the size of the programs it contains, but by its ability to transform schools into environments where students learn effectively, receive fairer opportunities and acquire skills they need in their lives.
Monitoring indicators from the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development shows that the challenges remain interconnected, including weaknesses in core skills, disparities in school environments, the need for greater teacher support, a digital transformation requiring educational guidance, and a gap between education outcomes and future requirements.
Addressing each issue separately may improve certain aspects, but it will not guarantee comprehensive transformation.
The real test of the plan is whether its impact becomes visible inside the classroom: whether students learn to understand and analyze rather than simply memorize; whether teachers have the tools and support they need; whether a school’s material conditions no longer determine its students’ opportunities; and whether the system publicly reports its results and corrects course when it fails.
Only then can it be said that education reform has moved beyond planning and implementation to produce genuine change in the quality of education in Jordan.
Source: Al-Ghad
