Working Paper 27

Sarah Nandi, Department of Political Science, McGill University

Oroub El Abed, International Migration and Refugee Studies, Birzeit University

Megan Bradley, Department of Political Science, McGill University

Hamzah Qardan, USAID, Jordan

Executive Summary

The three durable solutions, namely resettlement to a third country, local integration, and voluntary repatriation, aim to resolve refugeehood. However, these traditional pathways are no longer feasible for the majority of refugees. How different refugees access or think about solutions for their situation, including their perceptions and pursuit of the traditional and alternative pathways, are shaped by intersecting factors such as gender, race, nationality, and class. In order to better understand how different displaced communities navigate this “meantime” period of liminality, this study draws upon interviews with refugees and humanitarian staff in Amman, Jordan to examine the paths that refugees make for themselves even under enormous risk and constraints. To do so, we propose the concept of “para-solutions”, which can be understood as the parallel pathways that refugees create for themselves to access some of the benefits associated with residency rights or limited forms of establishing a life outside of Jordan. Para-solutions include both the tangible practices that refugees use in solutions-making in the present as well as the future hope attached to the different strategies. We examine para-solutions through two sub-categories: para-residency and para-mobility. Para-residency includes solutions that are localized in the Jordanian setting, deal mainly in the temporal present, and include practices such as pursuing education, vocational training, and volunteering opportunities.

Para-mobility is often focused on the future by including a hopefulness for what may become possible outside of Jordan and operates through higher education scholarships, short-term labour contracts in other countries or online, or travel through family relationships and marriage. Together, these para-solutions offer a more complete and intersectional representation of what “solutions” look like from the perspectives of refugees and show how the traditional pathways are always situated within a much broader solutions spectrum that challenges preconceived notions of belonging while also speaking to the critical role of hope.

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In The Meantime: Gender, Race, Nationality, and “Para- Solutions” for Refugees in Amman, Jordan

PRINT-In The Meantime: Gender, Race, Nationality, and “Para- Solutions” for Refugees in Amman, Jordan

Summary: In The Meantime: Gender, Race, Nationality, and “Para- Solutions” for Refugees in Amman, Jordan

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DOI

Citation

Nandi, S., El Abed, O., Bradley, M., Qardan, H. (2024). In The Meantime: Gender, Race, Nationality, and “Para- Solutions” for Refugees in Amman, Jordan. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN). 

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The , with the support of LERRN, has released a new report on how education for refugees and nationals in Jordan has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and making recommendations for future responses.

In Jordan, more than 2 million students across public, private, and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) schools have had their education interrupted since schools closed in mid-March 2020. With the spread of COVID-19, Jordan took the quick decision to implement a lockdown but to continue with education, albeit delivering its content remotely. The Ministry of Education (MoE) developed a quick response plan to provide a sense of normalcy for students as well as prevent the risk of students dropping out due to interruption in learning. This report outlines the MoE response to COVID-19 in Jordan, and builds on this response to visualize a roadmap for important interventions on the short, medium, and long terms. This roadmap is visualized based on emerging global resources during the pandemic and knowledge from education in emergency situations.

This report draws on the results of a larger multi-year study on the trajectories from education to employment for refugees and nationals in Lebanon and Jordan, a collaboration between the Centre for Lebanese Studies at the Lebanese American University in Beirut and the , Oxford Brookes University, with the support of , , and LERRN.

Download the full report: Education in the Time of Covid-19 in Jordan (PDF).

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Working Paper 6

Yasmeen Shahzadeh, McGill University

Executive Summary

Syrian and Jordanian youth in Jordan are experiencing challenges with regards to their access to education, their employment, and the transitions between the two. Amidst rising costs, economic fragility, and political uncertainty, youth in the country are rendered increasingly vulnerable.

In this working paper, LERRN researcher and McGill University Masters student Yasmeen Shahzadeh explores the current circumstances related to youth’s education and employment in Jordan, and discusses some challenges in linking both phases based on the field work she conducted in Amman, Jordan in the summer of 2019, as well as using existing academic literature and non-governmental publications.

This paper also introduces several recommendations for research and action that can inform future applied research and discussions of education and employment policy and practice in Jordan and in the region. First, advocacy to work to increase minimum wage for citizens and non-citizens in Jordan is crucial in light of rising costs of living. Second, exploring the possibility of opening professions to Syrians in Jordan is crucial, given the increasingly protracted nature of this conflict – drawing attention to the opportunity of opening up teaching jobs to Syrians. Third, it advocates for a market-based approach to designing training, education, & employment programs to graduate youth with in-demand qualifications.

Lastly, this paper highlights the importance of further research and a focus on knowledge translation to operationalize research into policy response, donor action, and organizational programming.

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PRINT-Understanding Syrian and Jordanian Youth Transitions from Education to Employment

April 28, 2026

Understanding Syrian and Jordanian Youth Transitions from Education to Employment

April 28, 2026

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More about the author

Yasmeen Shahzadeh has a Bachelor’s degree from McGill University with a major in International Development Studies, and a double minor in Communications Studies and Social Studies of Medicine. Currently, she is in her second year of her Masters in Education and Society at McGill, and has a concentration in Gender and Women’s Studies.

Watch this video to learn more about Yasmeen’s field work in Jordan.

DOI

Citation

Shahzadeh, Y. (2020). Understanding Syrian and Jordanian Youth Transitions from Education to Employment. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN).

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By Dr. Oroub El Abed 

Jordan is taking a number of pivotal measures to fight the spread of COVID-19. In her latest post, Dr. Oroub El Abed, a principal researcher and co-investigator in Jordan at the , outlines the new challenges this crisis has created in the labour market, especially for the most vulnerable wageworkers, including refugees and migrants.

An alarming message from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission in Western Asia (ESCWA )[1] warning of the severe consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on women, children and the daily workers of the informal sector who have no social protection or insurance. In Jordan, which has declared State of Emergency since March, 17^th 2020, to take all pre-emptive restrictions to control the spread of the virus, a special fund has been established to address the needs of families inflicted by the crisis. “Al Khair” account, opened as per Defence Order No 4 of 2020,[2] for the benefit of underprivileged families at the Ministry of Social Development. The fund aims to channel the money from local and international donations to support the impact of the lockdown and curfew imposed on the cities.

Al Khair fund as explained by the Prime Minister of Jordan, shall target families that have been directly affected and the daily wage workers who have lost their source of income due to the lockdown. Moreover, as a way to support the private sector, especially the small enterprises, the Central Bank of Jordan has launched a soft financing programme for small-and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) [3] providing financing to professionals, craftspeople and SMEs to cover their operational working capital and limit the fall out of the coronavirus impact on their businesses.

This emergency response, that seeks to support national capital and mobilize resources to provide social protection to the poor and vulnerable people in the informal sector and to secure protection of the private sector workers, has not mentioned the refugees, per se, who also live under a nationwide curfew to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Jordan hosts multinational refugees especially the mass influx in the last twenty years as a result of the regional conflicts in the Arab World. Today, the Syrians constitute the majority where about 656,103 (as registered by UNCHR)[4] live in Jordan added to few ten thousands Iraqis, Libyans, Yemeni, Somali and Sudanese.

This is added to the Palestinian refugees, who do not hold the Jordanian nationality and make around 634,182 as per 2015 census.[5] The United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that refugees in Jordan who make about 745,192 live in majority 83.5 percent in urban areas meanwhile about 16.5 percent live in three camps for the Syrians in the north of the country and 17 percent in UNRWA camps for Palestine refugees.[6]

As part of Jordan compact, which sought in 2016 to economically integrate the Syrian refugees, certain jobs have been left open[7] for investing in the Syrian refugee human capital through mobilizing international funds in industrial economic areas. Currently, only 173,000 of Syrian refugees hold work permits and are able to work in the services and construction industries.[8] Yet, the majority of the refugees (including Syrians and other nationalities) have chosen to work informally, with no contracts or access to health or medical insurance which has made them even more vulnerable as a result of the three weeks of lockdown all over Jordan.

Both UNRWA, which serves the Palestinian refugees[9] and UNHCR[10] have launched COVID appeals in the month of March seeking additional funding to manage the emergency response, in order to support households who have lost their source of income with immediate cash assistance. Moreover, they are negotiating with key ministries in Jordan to ensure that the response measures taken by the government of Jordan concerning the employment sector of daily wage workers are applied as well to refugees, and not only citizens.

At the civil society level, there has been several initiatives led by the Jordan National Aid Fund (under the Ministry of Social Development) and the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO), inviting grassroots and local NGOs to share the contacts of their beneficiaries, regardless of their nationalities, who have been direly affected by the lockdown. Naua, a social impact platform (under Crown Prince Foundation) that aims to promote philanthropy and civic engagement, is leading a national campaign with the Ministry of Social Development to support daily wage workers and their 200,000 families through mobilizing aid from individuals and private sector institutions.[11] These initiatives seek to provide some financial support and basic food packages. With the month of Ramadan (the month of fasting for Muslims) looming in the near future, the situation, if the lockdown persists, may become more alarming.

Dr. El Abed is a Collaborator on the LERRN partnership, a postdoctoral research fellow and Co-investigator at the on the project studying ‘From Education to Employment: Trajectories of Youth in Jordan and Lebanon in Contexts of Protracted Displacement.’

[1]  Coronavirus pandemic threatens to plunge millions in Arab region into poverty and food insecurity, 1/April/2020

[2] Jordan Times, 31/March/2020 :

[3]  CBJ launches JD500m soft financing programme for SMEs, Jordan Times, 1/April/2020

[4] . The Jordanian government estimates the Syrians to be around 1’500,000.

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

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[10]

[11]

The post The Severe Consequences of the COVID Pandemic on Daily Wage Workers in Jordan appeared first on LERRN: The Local Engagement Refugee Research Network.

By Dina Batshon

Written: 31/3/2020

2,372,736 learners in Jordan from pre-primary all the way to tertiary education, nationals and non-nationals, are affected by the nationwide closures of educational institutions [1] as the country comes towards the end of its second week under lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19. This past March has had continuous updates and drastic daily changes for learners, starting from the Ministry of Education (MoE) arguing in the second week of March that there is no need to disrupt education (since there is only one COVID-19 case in the country), to now having the entire country in its third week of school closures with focused attempts by all relevant actors to move to distance learning.

After just one case of COVID-19 on the 2^nd of March, the number increased to a total of 13 on the 15^th of March, which was announced as the first day of school closures. On the 17^th of March the National Defense Law was activated and on the 21^st of March a full lockdown was initiated. The first few days of closures for schools and meant that the students were home, and some teachers and administrators were still working within their institutions to continue providing classes through the use of online tools. But as the full lockdown came into place, individual responses from schools were no longer viable and the MoE rolled out a number of interventions in which it aimed to ‘continue with education’. Within this context, it’s important to note that refugees in Jordan enroll in formal education within the national public system and hence would, to an extent, benefit from the same interventions MoE undertakes.

was launched on the 22^nd of March as a distance learning platform to host recorded videos based on the Jordanian curriculum for students from the 1^st to 12^th grade covering Arabic Language, English Language, Maths, Sciences, and additional subjects for 11^th and 12^th grades based on the stream. The platform was launched as a collaboration between the MoE, The Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, developers Mawdoo3, and content providers: Edraak, Abwab, and Jo Academy, perhaps one of few education interventions in the country involving public, private, and not-for-profit partners. To ensure maximum accessibility, the platform was made free to access between 6am and 4pm. In addition, 3 national TV channels started broadcasting these videos, one of which was specifically for 12^th graders who would at some point be sitting for the general secondary education certificate examination, Tawjihi. This step reflected an understanding that the majority of households in Jordan have TV units, as opposed to computers/laptops or students each owning their own smart phone.

MoE interventions are continuously being rolled out, with a launched on the 31^st of March, to enable teachers to facilitate distance learning processes. The platform currently offers 6 free MOOCs covering distance learning tools, education technology, blended education, flipped classrooms, teaching pedagogy, and reflective teaching.

Other actors seem to directly and indirectly further support the reach of MoE interventions to the most vulnerable learners, for example the Jordan Electric Power company announced that they will not be disconnecting electrical power from any households that have not paid their bills and will reconnect it for those it had previously disconnected the power from [2], and The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced the extension of the electricity supply hours in both Azraq and Zaatari camps for Syrian refugees [3].

In addition to the MoE efforts, the Jordan Education Sector Working Group has conducted a mapping of education response to COVID-19 identifying a number of on-going and planned activities by NGOs and UN agencies all over the country and within Syrian refugee camps. Activities ranged from offering distance learning covering non-formal education, remedial education, and learning support services and more, using diverse modalities such as Whatsapp, SMS, Zoom, Facebook Live and Facebook closed groups, YouTube videos, and even printed workbooks to the most vulnerable with limited access to hardware, all the way to UNICEF providing financial, in-kind, and technical support to the MoE.

A number of interventions are either on-going or will be launched soon, but many things remain unclear and pose questions to reflect on. How many of the learners in the country are these interventions reaching? Are the issues faced by the most vulnerable being addressed, or will the education inequality gap grow bigger? Are parents being engaged properly to enable the learning of their children? What is the quality of the interventions being offered? How is being socially disconnected affecting the learners? And how will this period affect the future of education in Jordan? At this stage, it is not clear how much longer the country will remain under lockdown with schools closed (and how much longer humanity will fight this battle), and what the costs of continuing or not-continuing education are or would be, but what’s clear is that both state and non-state actors in Jordan have decided to keep the education system ongoing at all costs.

[1] Enrolment data from UNESCO Institute for Statistics as per

[2]

[3]

�Ӱ�ԭ�� the author

Dina Batshon is a Jordan based researcher and practitioner working on education, forced migration, as well as youth and community development. She is currently a researcher at the Centre for Lebanese Studies working on the research: From Education to Employment: Trajectories for Youth in Jordan and Lebanon in the Context of Protracted Displacement. She has an MA in Education and International Development from the Institute of Education at University College London.

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By Yasmeen Shahzadeh and Dr. Oroub El-Abed

�Ӱ�ԭ�� Dr. Oroub El-Abed

The post International Day of Education: Putting youth at the forefront appeared first on LERRN: The Local Engagement Refugee Research Network.

Photo: Yasmeen Shahzadeh, 2019

August 12 is : a celebration and recognition of the agency and role youth have in the in the world today, and the opportunities they possess in driving change for the future. The theme for this year’s International Youth Day is “Transforming Education”. Aligned with the , as well as the , this year’s theme aims to address the importance of quality education in youth development, and the role of youth-led organizations and youth initiatives, in cooperation with governments and non-governmental bodies, in creating inclusive and accessible education.

In Amman, youth are already demonstrating the role they can play in transforming education.

The focus of my research placement with LERRN in Amman, the capital of Jordan, examines the trajectories of youth, both locals and refugees, from education to employment and aims to analyze the youth agency and their ability to make a change through their activism and voicing out of their rights. The research aims to give voice to the challenges of youth (both locals and refugees) in the context of the protracted refugee situation, to inform policy and the kinds of future interventions necessary in education, employment, and beyond.

This work prioritizes working closely with youth and the initiatives by youth, so my research has included a mapping exercise of local groups working with youth, for youth, or by youth. Unsurprisingly, there is no shortage of youth-led initiatives, start-ups, and organizations that create more accessible, diverse, and higher quality education for all students, regardless of their age, background, ability, gender, and more.

To celebrate International Youth Day and the theme of transforming education, here are some examples of these initiatives and the amazing work work they do in Jordan.

is a non-governmental organization in Jordan aiming to bridge gaps between youth across Amman and Jordan to create a “civically engaged, aware, diverse, and accepting generation of youth.” One of their programs, called Shabbek Wa Badder (connect and initiate), focuses on partnering geographically and socio-economically different schools and their students to teach them entrepreneurship skills to launch their own initiatives. Another program on citizenship engages students in dialogue on national visions and strategies, human rights, and Jordanian laws, to inspire students to write and present policy papers on topics they are passionate about. Almost one thousand youth from across the Kingdom have benefited from these programs and have been able to gain entrepreneurial and leadership skills that the initiative hopes will allow them to become more engaged politically, socially, and economically for a stronger future in the country.

(or Innovate Go) is a youth initiative created by a Syrian refugee in Jordan. The initiative aims to deliver workshops to youth on innovation and entrepreneurship using technology, to enable them to establish themselves, establish their own sustainable projects, and improve the livelihoods of their local communities. More than 450 students from all backgrounds have participated in workshops led by youth for youth. Following the mission of his own initiative, the founder is currently developing a second project called , an app for deaf children, aiming to increase their literacy skills and provide accessible education.

is another youth-led organization. Since its inception in 2007 and registration in 2013 as a non-profit organization, Hikaya has focused on education through media training, leadership and management skills, and capacity building for youth. Hikaya Center runs several programs for local and refugee youth across the Kingdom, including a pioneering radio station as an open cultural platform for youth to learn, share, and feel empowered. Notably, Hikaya Center runs a mentorship and training program with at-risk youth to re-engage them with their community and allow them to learn skills such as photography and graphic design.

Local youth have responded within Amman not only in initiatives but also in spaces and centers that serve their education and networking purposes. There are several such spaces, including Shams Community, Liwan, and Jadal for Knowledge and Culture, and countless others.

started in 2011 working on community-based solutions to social problems. In 2016, the group opened a space for its activities in Amman, and now hosts regular conversation sessions and workshops. These sessions bring youth of all backgrounds together for meaningful dialogue to discuss a specific topic, and brainstorm solutions or approaches to raise awareness.

is an open center intended to be a safe space for community development, collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The space was founded on the basis of collaboration and participatory action. The space serves as room for opportunities for youth, networking, and support for initiatives. Anyone is allowed to make use of the space in exchange for a contribution: for example, youth can contribute in volunteering hours, in-kind donations, or financial support. The space regularly hosts initiatives, organizations, and individuals interested in providing workshops or trainings on various skills, ranging from Photoshop to project design and even to programming.

is a non-profit initiative for youth. Started in 2012, the initiative creates a space for youth to gather to discuss values, innovations, culture, and more. The center in the heart of Amman has study and café spaces, but also hosts workshops, art galleries, conversation circles (called Jadal Saloons), and more. Youth are able to attend many workshops free of charge (or at accessible prices), and can attend saloons to share information or learn more about a variety of topics every week.

Many education initiatives and organizations in Jordan focus on entrepreneurship and youth empowerment. Equipping youth with the skills they need to drive sustainable change for the future is important, especially in light of the challenges youth experience in Jordan such as rising unemployment, rising costs of living, and socio-political instability. Youth in Jordan from all backgrounds are attempting to work together to create spaces and initiatives where they can learn, teach, and improve themselves and their communities.

Despite this, unemployment continues to rise and youth continue to struggle socio-economically. Setting up youth initiatives and organizations comes at a high price, and with heavy government bureaucracy, many youth are deterred from this route. Wider outreach and understanding of public participation and community engagement is lacking.

In Amman, youth are redefining traditional education by creating new avenues for learning in new and non-conventional ways. On this International Youth Day, and every day, we should celebrate, facilitate, and amplify the accomplishments led by youth in driving change through dialogue, advocacy, networking, teaching, and beyond.

Yasmeen Shahzadeh is a graduate student at McGill University, Montreal. She is one of seven Canadian graduate students currently undertaking research placements with LERRN partners in the Middle East and East Africa, with the support of funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

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