Queen visits schools in Irbid

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah on Wednesday visited three schools in Irbid, prior to the launch of Madrasati Phase V, which targets schools in the northern governorate and second largest city in the Kingdom. Her Majesty checked up on the conditions in the schools, and was briefed on plans to develop and refurbish these schools. At the Hai Al Saleh Elementary School for Boys, the Queen talked with students and teachers and heard from the school principle about their needs and the urgent interventions that Madrasati will be working on in the school. Interventions in the school include: building a new bathroom unit, establishing a playground, installing new windows, general internal maintenance works and installing new gates. Meanwhile, in the Hai Al Saleh Elementary School for Girls, the Queen saw where partition walls will be built to create more classrooms with more privacy for each, in addition to several other structural rehabilitation interventions. Queen Rania also visited The Yubla Co-ed Elementary School, where she spoke with teachers, the school’s principle and received a briefing on the planned renovation in the school from Madrasati Director, Danah Dajani. The Queen toured the school’s classrooms and facilities and looked firsthand where the much needed renovations will take place. Following recommendations from the Ministry of Education, Madrasati has selected a hundred of the most disadvantaged schools in Irbid to join the initiative in 2012 which will in turn affect the lives of approximately 28,500 students, their families, and communities. Plans are set to begin physical renovations during the summer vacation and committees have already been working hard to determine priorities of each school. As part of Madrasati methodology, focus group discussions will be held with students, teachers, and parents all over Irbid to determine local educational needs. Madrasati’s extracurricular programs will be implemented in Irbid Schools during the second semester in February 2013.