Strengthening Education
 Moroccan girls work on their studies in a supervised boarding facility. To date, 2,200 rural girls have benefited from USAID-funded scholarships to attend middle school while living in these dormitories, which are run by local NGOs. Without this safe lodging, the girls might have been unable to continue their schooling. (Photo: Morocco/USAID)
MIDDLE EAST BUREAU EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, West Bank/Gaza, and Yemen
CONTACTS
LeAnna Marr
Education Team Leader
Tel: (202) 712-0451
Email: lmarr@usaid.gov
Christine Capacci-Carneal, Ph.D.
Education Development Officer,
Middle East
Tel: (202) 712-5692
Email: ccapacci-carneal@usaid.gov
Overview
Education is key to ensuring a prosperous and stable future in the Middle East and North Africa. Nevertheless, many children - especially girls - still lack access to quality and relevant educational opportunities. USAID assists governments in the Middle East and North Africa as they work to address the wide variety of educational challenges- from a lack of access to schools to inadequately trained teachers and administrators and irrelevant curricula.
Programs
Improving Basic Education
USAID supports governments, schools, communities, and non-governmental organizations in the region as they strive to improve pre-primary through post-secondary education, including learning opportunities for out-of-school youth. Highlights include:
In Egypt, USAID supported the implementation of the "Teachers' Cadre" law that establishes a revolutionary system for hiring, training, and promoting teachers and provides incentives for teachers to improve their professional abilities. In 2008, nearly 1 million Egyptian teachers and administrators took the first-ever teacher proficiency exam, a first step in establishing national standards for the teaching profession, and 125,000 administrators are returning to teaching due to salary incentives provided under the Teachers' Cadre.
In
Jordan, USAID field-tested a new kindergarten curriculum, provided teacher training to 100 percent of public kindergarten teachers and 480 principals, and refurbished and equipped nearly 30 percent of Jordan's kindergarten classrooms. USAID also supported the implementation of a parental involvement initiative that has encouraged parents to volunteer as teachers' aides in the classroom.
USAID's program in Lebanon has provided 160 high school students and 1,750 university students with scholarship assistance at American education institutions.
Over 270,000 children (45 percent girls) and 11,000 teachers (23 percent women) from some 487 participating schools in Morocco are benefiting from a USAID program that assists the Government of Morocco in improving the quality and relevance of basic education.
In West Bank and Gaza,
USAID supported 69 master's degree scholarships to qualified Palestinian students to study in the United States. Of the scholars selected, 50 percent are women and 45 percent are from Gaza.
In Yemen,
USAID has trained over 3,000 teachers and school administrators in the areas of science and mathematics for grades four to nine. The training assists teachers to make their learning materials relevant to life in their communities.
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