PRIVATE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT RESTRICTIONS AFFECT

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 002981

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA AND PRM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2017
TAGS: PREF PGOV SOCI EAID IZ JO
SUBJECT: PRIVATE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT RESTRICTIONS AFFECT
IRAQIS

REF: AMMAN 2964

Classified By: Classified by CDA Daniel Rubinstein for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d)


1. (U) On June 26, Jordan's Ministry of Education (MoE)
issued its annual letter to Jordanian private school
principals advising them which students would be permitted to
enroll in private schools for the 2007/2008 academic year.
The letter stated that non-Jordanian students could register
for school after providing a valid annual residency permit.
Exceptions were made for students from the GCC countries
(which do not need residency permits under Jordanian law),
and for children of Egyptian, Syrian and Yemeni laborers with
valid work permits. Iraqis were not mentioned.


2. (SBU) In meetings with Emboffs, NGOs working with Iraqis
in Jordan expressed concern about their ability to deliver
some educational services in light of this letter. Save the
Children would be most affected by enforcement of the policy
because it provides PRM and UNHCR-funded scholarships to
needy Iraqis to attend private schools. To date, Save the
Children has registered approximately 2,000 Iraqi students in
Jordanian private schools.


3. (SBU) During a July 9 meeting, several NGOs explained
that the MoE issues an enrollment guidance letter annually,
but last year delivered it after the school year had started
and private schools had already enrolled Iraqi students.
Lobbying efforts by a syndicate of private schools and, in
turn, several Jordanian parliamentarians encouraged the MoE
to allow several subsequent grace periods during which
private schools were not penalized for having students
without residence permits. These "grace periods" effectively
allowed undocumented Iraqi students to finish the school
year. NGOs noted that this year's letter was issued before
the start of the school year, providing a strong disincentive
for private school principals to accept registration without
legal residency. They expressed concern that the Ministry of
Education is unlikely to repeat last year's flexible "grace
periods."


4. (C) Comment. The MoE's June 26 letter reflects the
ongoing nature of GoJ discussions regarding the access issue,
and real Jordanian concerns about the long-term implications
of entrenching a large population of Iraqis in Jordan. Post
continues to press the GoJ to act upon its stated intention
of providing broad access to education for Iraqi children
(reftel). End comment.

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Rubinstein