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. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Rubinstein