Human Rights Watch urged Jordan on Tuesday (July 16th) to ease access to education for thousands of un-schooled Syrian refugee children ahead of the new academic year, AFP reported.
More than 80,000 school-aged Syrian children in the kingdom received no formal education in the last school year, the rights group said in a new report, noting that a series of obstacles are preventing Syrian children from going to school.
Many were barred from public schools for lack of "service cards" issued to Syrians living outside formal refugee camps, HRW said, estimating that "tens of thousands" of Syrians are ineligible for the cards due to lack of paperwork or failing to meet stringent criteria.
Jordanian regulations also bar children from entering school if they have been out of education for three or more years, the group said.
Jordan says it is hosting nearly 1.4 million refugees, of whom 630,000 are registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
HRW praised Jordan's "generous efforts" to enroll Syrians in its public schools, which already were struggling with capacity issues before the influx of refugees.
Jordan opened schools in refugee camps and put in place a "double shift" system to give more school places to Syrians. But over a third of the 226,000 school-aged Syrians registered with the UNHCR in Jordan received no formal education in the last school year, HRW said.
