The Syrian Crisis Impact on Quality of Education in Jordan: A Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment

Abstract
This paper investigates the causal impact of the Syria crisis on quality of education in Jordan. We collected and analyzed primary quantitative and qualitative data for a sample of Jordanian public schools located in Qasabet-Irbid district (Northern Jordan), close to the Syrian border. Our empirical analysis assesses an overall negative impact of Syrian refugee enrollment in the Jordanian education system induced by both overcrowding and double-shift practices. This impact on students’ performance is represented by a declining in their scores in four main subjects (Math, Science, Arabic, and English) relative to the counterfactual sample. This negative impact is confirmed by the qualitative analysis as well. This study provides the first empirical evidence on the impact of the Syrian crisis on education quality in the affected public schools in Jordan, with possible long-term effects on economic growth. Although it does not represent, by any means, an argument against hosting policies of refugees, it represents a quest for the international agencies and donors to refine their financial and technical support to schooling the refugees without affecting the education quality in public schools. This will also help to prevent tensions between the incoming and the host communities.

Keywords: Syria Crisis, Refugee Education, Education Quality, Overcrowding, Double-shift Schools, and Causal Impact