15 EBRD-financed schools to be built in Amman, Madaba, Zarqa

The project, financed from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), is part of the London conference recommendations and aims at providing a proper educational environment through expansion in building schools to meet the ministry’s demands under the increasing number of students.

Education Minister Walid Maani said that the scheme is also an implementation of His Majesty King Abdullah’s vision that highlights the importance of public-private partnership in enhancing and developing all sectors, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Maani referred to the big challenges facing the ministry in terms of the educational environment, especially those pertaining to the population growth, repercussions of the Syrian refugee influx, having to work in two shifts, rented schools and overcrowding in classes.

He noted that the ministry needs to build 600 schools within the next 10 years, adding that this new project is a step forwards towards achieving this goal.

The minister called on the International Finance Corporation (IFC), supervising the project, to speed up procedures in floating tenders of the projects, which requires engaging the private sector that will be responsible for designing, constructing, operating and sustaining schools for many years before delivering them to the ministry.

The ministry has provided the necessary plots of land to build these schools according to the best standards, where these buildings will be equipped with renewable and alternative energy, Maani pointed out.

IFC Country Manager Dalia Wahba highlighted the importance of the development impact of the scheme in terms of improving the school environment and the educational process, as well as addressing overcrowding at schools resulting from natural population growth and migration.

Wahba praised the Jordanian role in receiving refugees, mainly Syrians who are estimated at 1.3 million, including 130,000 students.