AMMAN — A study published Tuesday suggests that cash
transfer programs, such as
UNICEF’s Hajati program, have increased education
access among highly vulnerable Jordanian and Syrian children and adolescents in
Jordan.
اضافة اعلان
Initiated in 2017, the Hajati cash transfer program supports
55,000 vulnerable households, helping students “access education by enabling families
to afford school supplies and transport, as well as by supporting broader
household needs, such as rent and improved nutrition,” according to UNICEF.
UNICEF Jordan’s deputy representative, Shairose Mawji, said
in a recent statement that the long-term effects of “dropping out-of-school,
which have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, (deprive) children of skills
they need to succeed in life and traps them in a cycle of poverty, adversely
impacting the country’s economic growth.”
According to the study, vulnerable Jordanian adolescents are
more likely than Syrian adolescents to enroll in school, despite basic
education being free and compulsory for all children, refugees included, in the
Kingdom. The study also finds that Syrian girls cannot “read to a second-grade
level, despite being in Grade 10,” that Syrians living in Jordan lag “half a
grade behind,” and those living in “tented settlements” fall two grade levels
behind, compared to their Jordanian peers.
The
study brings to the table several recommendations to overcome these barriers,
some of which include extending the program to secondary education students, building
learning support in core subjects across all grade levels, providing disabled,
adolescent girls and children with transportation, and monitoring attendance.
Mawji contended that through its cash transfer program,
UNICEF strives to improve vulnerable children’s access to quality education as
well as learning outcomes.
“UNICEF is committed to working with the Government of
Jordan and partners to ensure that every girl and boy has equal access to
quality education,” said Mawji. “Thanks
to our donors, and through the Hajati program, UNICEF has provided cash
assistance to 14,000 of the most vulnerable families to enable children to
access quality education and grow to their full potential.”
Read more
Business
.jpg)
.jpg)
