My Future Learning Space
Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan
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Currently, 20,771 children, 50.8 per cent girls and 49.2 per centboys, are enrolled in formal schools from an eligible population (5-17yrs) of 28,569. To further the quality of basic education,school expansion, class formation planning, the development of physical infrastructure, together with investment in teachingand supervision practices are seeking to address barriers to enrolment and retention. To compliment formal education, 5,539 children have access informal education and psychosocial support activities via 26 ‘Makani’ centres. While 3500 youth have access to skills training opportunities in the camp, the establishment of quality, relevant, flexible and diverse pathways to
certified post-basic and tertiary level learning opportunities is a priority. (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – www.unhcr.org )
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Charities have warned the current system remains plagued by difficulties. Problems include lack of support for students, a shortage of qualified teachers and alleged bullying. There is an urgent need for more trained teachers and improved safety measures .Across the country, 198 schools are running a double shift system whereby a different cohort of children attends in either the morning or the afternoon.Girls, in particular, have been subjected to abuse and harassment on the way to and from school which has led to alot of parents removing their girls from school . ( The Guardian ,2017 )
Despite efforts to reduce early marriage in Zaatari camp since its opening in 2012, maternal health workers from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) say the number of babies born to adolescent girls remains stubbornly high. Since UNFPA began its operations in Zaatari in mid-2013, doctors have delivered more than 6,500 babies in the camp - 5 percent of them born to mothers younger than 18. The charity Save the Children says many Syrian refugee families marry off their daughters to provide them financial security or protect them from sexual violence perpetrated by other men in refugee camps.
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