VZCZCXRO6096
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHAM #3369/01 2211432
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091432Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9862
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003369 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA AND PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREF PHUM SOCI EAID IZ JO
SUBJECT: GOJ RAPIDLY PREPARING SCHOOLS FOR IRAQI STUDENT 
ENROLLMENT 
 
REF: AMMAN 3352 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  The Ministry of Education (MoE) sent a 
letter to all public school principals on August 6 
instructing them to allow Iraqi students to register in 
public and private schools regardless of residence status for 
the 2007-08 school term.  Major Jordanian daily newspapers 
prominently reported the decision and the MoE's efforts to 
implement the GOJ's decision.  The GOJ is now moving rapidly 
to prepare its public schools for the enrollment of Iraqi 
schoolchildren.  MoE officials agreed to double-shift schools 
and begin site visits to select schools this week.   UNHCR 
and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation 
(MOPIC) are finalizing an agreement this week to transfer $10 
million to the GOJ to offset costs associated with the influx 
of Iraqi students.  END SUMMARY. 
 
GETTING THE WORD OUT 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The Ministry of Education sent a letter to all public 
and private school principals on August 6 informing them of 
the Cabinet's August 5 decision to waive residency 
requirements for Iraqi schoolchildren and instructing them to 
enroll Iraqis who register at their schools. 
 
¶3. (U) UNICEF and local NGOs have divided up responsibility 
in efforts to mobilize Iraqi families to register their 
children.  Save the Children has taken the lead on such 
efforts. 
 
¶4. (U) Major Jordanian daily newspapers extensively covered 
the decision to allow Iraqi children into public schools on 
August 7.  Front page stories ran on the English-language 
Jordan Times as well as the Arabic dailies Al Rai, Al 
Dustour, and Al Arab Al Youm.  All referenced the GOJ figure 
of 50,000 Iraqi students entering Jordanian public schools 
and discussed the $129 million UNHCR education appeal, though 
most neglected to mention UNICEF's co-sponsorship.  Managing 
Director of General Education and Student Affairs Mohammad 
Okour was quoted as advising Iraqi families to "Immediately 
report to public schools and register their children, ready 
with the necessary official documents such as birth 
certificates and school certificates."  Media reports claim 
that the GOJ estimates its average annual per pupil cost for 
students enrolled in  basic, secondary or vocational schools 
is approximately JD 1,000. 
 
DOUBLE-SHIFTING GOJ SCHOOLS 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) MOPIC and UNHCR are finalizing an agreement they 
expect to sign by August 9 to transfer $10 million to the GOJ 
to offset costs associated increase Iraqi enrollments.  Based 
on a draft budget provide by UNHCR, the $10 million would be 
spent during the period between August and December 2007 as 
follows: 
 
--Teacher and administrative staff salaries     $4.32 million 
--Minor refurbishment of double-shifted schools $3 million 
--Contingency (supplies, furniture, equipment)$2.25 million 
--School operational and maintenance costs $.43 million 
 
¶6. (SBU) Emboff, UNHCR, UNICEF and Save the Children met with 
MFA, MOPIC and MoE officials on August 6 and 7 to 
operationalize this GOJ decision.  During the August 6 
meeting, one mid-level MoE official expressed hesitancy on 
making decisions on behalf of his ministry.  Nawaf At-Tal, 
Director of the MFA's Negotiations Bureau, immediately called 
the Ministry of Education Secretary General and scheduled a 
follow-on meeting for August 7 with all relevant MoE section 
heads. 
 
¶7. (U) On August 7, Ministry of Education officials reviewed 
a list of 43 schools proposed by USAID for potential 
double-shifting and agreed to conduct site visits as early as 
August 9;   a USAID contractor identified an additional 40 
schools - raising the number of schools under consideration 
to 83.  The MoE Secretary General responsible for finance and 
administration appointed two MoE engineers and planners from 
two education directorates in Amman to assist in prioritizing 
the current list of schools for double shifting.  They expect 
to complete site visits by the middle of next week and will 
then rank the schools in order of suitability.  Senior 
management in the MoE will determine the appropriate number 
of schools to be double-shifted.  USAID is preparing a 
questionnaire and providing a technical expert to join MoE 
officials on site visits. 
 
 
AMMAN 00003369  002 OF 002 
 
 
SCHOOL SUPPLIES, TEACHERS, AND FEES 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Iraqi children who enroll in public schools will be 
required to pay the regular school fees for foreign students: 
40 JD per annum for basic school (grades 1-10) and 60 JD for 
secondary school (grades 11-12) in addition to textbook 
costs.  UNHCR is working to determine a process to assist the 
neediest families to prevent the costs from becoming 
prohibitive. 
 
¶9. (U) GOJ, UNHCR and UNICEF officials estimated that 2,550 
new teachers and staff members will need to be hired at a 
cost of approximately $5 million to meet the additional 
inflow of Iraqi students.  These numbers were incorporated 
into UNHCR's draft budget. 
 
RENTAL SCHOOLS 
-------------- 
 
¶10. (U) MoE officials estimate that the process of renting 
schools would require one to two months.  MoE officials told 
Emboff that no suitable facilities exist in current 
government buildings (e.g. ministries or universities) that 
could be converted into temporary classrooms.  For the 
moment, the MoE is focusing almost exclusively on the 
double-shift in preparation for the August 19 start date. 
 
¶11. (SBU) UNICEF Emergency Coordinator Jon Cunliffe told 
Emboffs that he met with MoE supply and procurement managing 
director Maher Al Sabbagh on August 7 to discuss equipping 
schools for the additional influx of schoolchildren.   Al 
Sabbagh commented that rented buildings will need to be 
equipped and furnished from top to bottom, which could raise 
the cost of the school rental process significantly.  He also 
warned that the competitive tendering processed may result in 
additional delays in readiness.  UNICEF and MoE agreed to 
purchase supplies in phases, ordering no more than 10,000 of 
each item during the first wave of purchasing to avoid large 
stocks in warehouses and tying up UNICEF's financial 
resources.  Al Sabbagh noted that the MoE presently maintains 
a small reserve of school furniture, supplies, and textbooks. 
Hale