The education system of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan includes basic, secondary, and higher education and has dramatically evolved since the establishment of the state in the early 1900s. The role played by a good education system has been significant in the development of Jordan from a predominantly agrarian to an industrialized nation over time.
Jordan has the highest number of researchers in research and development per million people among all the 57 countries that are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); in Jordan there are 8,060 researchers per million people, while the world average is 2,532 per million.
In 2003, the share of budget dedicated to education was 6.4 percent of total government expenditure; education spending as a percentage of GDP was 13.5 percent in the same year. At 8.9 percent, Jordan has the lowest illiteracy rate in the Arab world (as of 2012). The primary gross enrollment ratio has increased from 71 percent in 1994 to 98.2 percent in 2006. The transition rate to secondary school, during the same period, increased from 63 percent to 97 percent and transition rates to higher education have varied between 79 and 85 percent of secondary school graduates. Along with these high enrollment and transition rates, Jordan has achieved a 97.89% gender parity in literacy by 2012, and full parity in primary and secondary enrollment by 2008.
Jordan is ranked 95 out of 187 in the Human Development Index. Despite strained resources, the Ministry of Education of Jordan has developed highly advanced national curriculum, and many other nations in the region have developed their education system using Jordan as a model. Jordan ranks number one in the Arab World in education.
The Ministry of Education (MoE) is responsible for the pre-primary, primary, and secondary levels of education. Post-secondary education is the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), which includes the Higher Education Council and the Accreditation Council.
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) finds that Jordan is fulfilling only 63.7% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to education based on the country's level of income. HRMI breaks down the right to education by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondary education. While taking into consideration Jordan's income level, the nation is achieving only 62.1% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education and 65.2% for secondary education.
Education Management System
The Ministry of Education (MoE) is responsible for the pre-primary, primary, and secondary levels of education. Post-secondary education is the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), which includes the Higher Education Council and the Accreditation Council. The MoHESR has outlined a National Strategy for Higher Education for the years 2007–2012.
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) at the post-basic level (excluding community colleges) as well as applied vocational education, administered by the Vocational Training Corporation (VTC), is under the authority of the Ministry of Labor.
School Education
The structure of the educational system in Jordan consists of a two-year cycle of preschool education, ten years of compulsory basic education, and two years of secondary academic or vocational education after which the students sit for a General Certificate of Secondary Education Exam (Tawjihi). Basic Education is free of charge, and so is secondary education in public schools.
Basic Education
Basic Education is a 10-year compulsory and free level of education (grades 1-10). Study books are standard books distributed by the Ministry of Education. Education is compulsory for all through the age of sixteen.
More than half of the Jordan population is below the age of 30 years. About 42.2 percent are 14 years or younger, whereas 31.4 percent fall between 15 and 29 years of age; almost one-third of the Jordanians are enrolled in educational facilities. As of 2007/2008 the gross primary enrollment rate is 95.7 percent which is higher than the regional average of 93 percent. Jordan also ensures a high level of gender parity in access to basic services; the gender parity index for gross enrollment ratio in primary education is 0.98, better than other Arab countries. It is also one of the few Arab countries that have very small disparity in primary school attendance rates among urban and rural areas. This is mainly because public financing for basic schooling is more pro-poor than that for any other education level.