Figure 7: Expenditure on Primary and Secondary Education Expenditure per Student (PPPS) Primary and Secondary Education Spending — Selected Countries 15,000 ‘Spend per primary and secondary student ys. selected countries $ PPP, Selected Countries, 2011 12,000 9,000 6,000 3,000 Ireland Finland Asracl_—=—‘Singaporel_Lithanla—Mangary—Walgala Jordan Note: Data for Singapore is from 2010 Source: World Bank (TIMSS) At the tertiary education level, there are two key issues. First, employers have noted for several years that the Kingdom's universities are not consistently delivering graduates with the skills and training required for the workforce. Second, there is too much focus on academic as opposed to vocational training. Only 13% of students in the public education system are studying vocational course, well below comparable international standards. This means that a significant number of graduates will immediately join the ranks of the jobless, despite the ready availability of jobs for vocationally skilled workers. Employer perceptions are reinforced by the fact that, unlike several universities in the GCC, Lebanon and Egypt, no Jordanian university is ranked within the top 500 universities worldwide according to the Times Higher Education-British Quacquarelli Symonds (THE-QS) global ranking of universities. According to the National Employment Strategy, employer satisfaction with the quality of graduates is low because they believe the curricula and teaching methods at the university level do not focus primarily on the needs of the labor market. The most concerning indicator about the quality of outcomes achieved by the tertiary education sector is the high unemployment rate amongst Jordan's university graduates. This represents a negative return on investment from the national tertiary education system. Many university students could build their skills and employability faster and at less cost by enrolling in vocational training programs to facilitate access to the labor market instead of choosing three or four year degree programs at university that do not necessarily guarantee decent jobs. The steady relative decline of the quality of outputs of higher education institutions in Jordan is reflected in the number of non-Jordanian students enrolled in Jordanian universities, as indicated by the Higher Education Strategy 2015-2018 that identified the major challenges facing the sector. In addition to low enrolment rates, the vocational training sector is “yielding poorly trained and uncommitted workers” according to a recent independent assessment. The assessment of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system indicates limited linkages between labour market needs and Jordan's vocational training institutes, poor instructor qualifications, lack of proper equipment for training, and overall lack of official occupational standards validated by employers to ensure there is a clear frame of reference for all training programs. wee WAN