SCENESETTER FOR THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION'S VISIT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003921

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

FOR SECRETARY SPELLINGS FROM CHARGE DAVID HALE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OVIP JO
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION'S VISIT
TO JORDAN


1. (U) Embassy Amman warmly welcomes you to Jordan. Your
participation in the G-8/BMENA Education Ministerial
Meeting on Education, as well as bilateral discussions with
Queen Rania and other high-level Jordanian, G-8, and BMENA
officials will provide an excellent opportunity to
highlight America's message on education reform in the
BMENA region to Jordan and the world.


2. (U) Jordan is not only one of our closest allies in the
region, but it is fully engaged in supporting our most
important efforts, including creating a free Iraq,
fulfillment of the President's vision of a two-state
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, defeating
global terrorism, and advancing comprehensive Jordanian and
Arab reform. Your program in Jordan will send important
messages, underlining America's readiness for dialogue with
Arab youth, our support for interactive, IT-based learning,
and our respect for the region's deep religious and
historical heritage.


3. (U) The King and Queen place a high priority on
providing hope and jobs to Jordanian youth, an effort in
which education plays a crucial role. They realize that a
large number of Jordanian high school and university
graduates lack the skills required by the global
marketplace and nearly half of them are unable to find jobs
on the local economy. To remedy this problem, the GOJ
launched an ambitious five year, $380 million reform
initiative in July 2003. The U.S. has committed more than
USD 50 million to support this effort.


4. (U) Background on Jordan's Education Reform Efforts:
In 1990, the GOJ launched a two phase education reform
program with the support of the World Bank. These
initiatives improved primary and secondary school
curriculum, supported school construction/renovation, and
strengthened teacher training and vocational education.
Results from this program included: improved universal
access to primary and secondary education for Jordanian
children, and impressive gains in the upgrading of teacher
's skills. Nonetheless, challenges still remain. As a
result, the GOJ launched a comprehensive program of reform,
called the Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy
Initiative (ERfKE) in July 2003 to address the future human
capacity requirements of Jordan through improved early
childhood, primary, and secondary education. Due to
increased USG assistance, Jordan has already adopted an
early childhood education curriculum developed by USAID,
and over the next three years, the U.S. will help develop
e-learning programs for secondary schools, including
on-line civics and English as a Second Language courses.
Jordan is attempting to equip all classrooms with
information technology; 50 "Discovery Schools" (including
the one you will visit in Amman) have already been
connected to broadband internet, thanks to U.S.
assistance. The U.S. will soon launch a pilot
school-to-work program in partnership with the private
sector.


5. (U) A Closer Look at the Education Reform for the
Knowledge Economy Initiative (ERfKE): As mentioned above,
the Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy initiative
was conceived by the GOJ in partnership with USAID, the
World Bank and other donors. In 2002, USAID/Jordan
supported the development of the integrated ERfKE project
framework, in partnership with Jordan's Ministry of
Education. This framework outlines the concepts and costs
of fully re-orienting Jordan's education system through
four main areas of work: (1) re-orientation of education
policy, (2) restructuring and realignment of education
programs and practices, (3) support for improved physical
learning environments, and (4) the promotion of learning
readiness through early childhood education. Under ERfKE,
the World Bank has approved $120 million in loans over five
years; the GOJ will provide $130 million; and other donors
will contribute $130 million - of which USAID/Jordan has
committed about $45 million in the two key sectors of early
childhood education and youth information technology.


6. (U) A Closer Look at The Jordan Education Initiative:
The Jordan Education Initiative was launched at the June
2003 World Economic Forum meeting in Jordan. Its goal is
to develop e-curriculum and broadband IT connections for
100 model "Discovery Schools" to advance education reform.
To date, USAID/Jordan has committed to providing $5 million
for support of the JEI secretariat, critical IT equipment,
and connecting 100 schools to broadband internet links.
In February 2004 the Department of State's Partnership
Initiatives Office (MEPI) committed $4 million to support
the development of English as a Second Language and
Civics e-curriculum. It is likely that the Government
of Jordan will assist the Palestinian Authority in launching
the Palestinian Education Initiative - an announcement by the
GOJ to support this effort is being planned for the G-8/BMENA
Ministerial Meeting on May 23rd.


7. (U) We have highlighted below the recent
political, economic and social developments that set the
context for your program:


8. (SBU) NEW REFORM CABINET IN JORDAN: The performance and
prospects of the cabinet, appointed by King Abdullah April
7, are the main item of political discussion in Jordan. The
new Prime Minister, Adnan Badran, is a respected academic
but has limited political experience. The King chose
Badran because he saw him as committed to accelerating the
pace of internal political reform. However, the cabinet's
economic team -- which has outstanding reformist
credentials, and is led by Finance Minister Bassem
Awadallah -- has generated strong opposition. Many of the
opponents believe they will lose out if the reform program
is accelerated, and may see these ministers as too
Western-oriented. Forty-six of the 110 members of
parliament have signed an open letter pledging that they
will withhold their votes of confidence in the new
government if PM Badran does not reshuffle his cabinet.


9. (SBU) ECONOMIC REFORM AND GROWTH: Jordan has emerged
as a model for economic reform in the region. In close
cooperation with USAID, Jordan rewrote its laws and
regulations to meet World Trade Organization requirements,
modernized its customs regime, and is currently
implementing a policy of one-stop service for new investors
under a modern investment promotion law. These reforms
helped Jordan's GDP of USD 10.8 billion grow by 7.6% last
year in real terms, fueled by booming exports to Iraq and
the U.S., which increased in 2004 by 60% and 54%,
respectively. Jordan still has work to do, however, to
reform basic government services, enhance law enforcement,
and create a climate of full transparency and
accountability. Rising prices, a tax hike approved last
year, and widespread unemployment - officially estimated at
13.4%, but probably higher, especially among the youth, are
behind complaints of ordinary citizens who feel squeezed.
As in most Arab countries, jobs, and the education needed
to qualify for them in the globalizing economy, are the
number one concern among Jordanian youth. The King and
the leadership have a strong vision of how to give young
Jordanians the IT and English-language skills needed to
compete in a global economy, and you will see first hand at
the Discovery School how this is being accomplished.


10. (SBU) POLITICAL REFORM: King Abdullah, who fully
understands the U.S. commitment to democracy in the
region, replaced the prior cabinet with more reform-minded
ministers in April. Earlier in the year, he had appointed
two royal commissions and called on them to draft programs
aimed at transforming the Jordanian political environment.
The first commission is charged with forming a plan to
decentralize government decision-making by dividing the
country into three regions, each with its own elected
legislature. The second is pursuing a broad "national
agenda," to be announced no later than September, that will
include recommendations on reforming laws on political
parties and elections to open further the political process
and enhance democratic institutions.


11. (SBU) REACHING JORDAN'S YOUTH: Unemployment and
limits on political participation have alienated many
Jordanian young people, leaving some prone to extremism.
Hostility toward and suspicion of U.S. motives and foreign
policy are strong. The U.S. government, through both USAID
and the Middle East Partnership Initiative, supports the
GOJ's efforts to counter extremist tendencies, starting in
the earliest school years. You will have an opportunity to
see some of these programs at work, including a visit to a
"Discovery School" and a tour and meeting with members of
INJAZ - a Junior Achievement-style program. These programs
expose young Jordanians to a broad, tolerant view of the
world that discourages violence and extremism while
respecting Islam and traditional values.


HALE