National classification
The new classification: what has been issued, and what awaits instructions
Every private school in Jordan faces two national tracks: the Ministry of Education’s classification into six categories every 3 years, and accreditation by the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission, whose remit now covers schools. Here is what has been officially published, with sources.
Sources last reviewed: October 2026
- Who classifies
- The Ministry of Education, by decision of the Minister
- Who is classified
- Every licensed private school and kindergarten, each branch on its own
- Cycle
- Every 3 years
- Status
- A draft regulation; standards not yet issued
Two tracks, not one
Track one: the Ministry of Education classification. On 30 July 2026 the Legislation and Opinion Bureau published the draft Private Educational Institutions Classification Regulation of 2026, in 17 articles. Its aim is to help students and parents choose, and to encourage schools to keep improving.
Track two: accreditation by the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission. The Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission Law No. 18 of 2026 was published in the Official Gazette on 10 September 2026 and takes effect 90 days after publication, around 9 December 2026. The Commission’s remit covers public and private schools and kindergartens, while licensing stays with the Ministry.
Both texts may change
The classification regulation is still a draft, and its standards and weights have not been issued; nor have the Commission’s standards for accrediting schools. We review this page whenever a new text is issued.
Six categories, ranked relative to each other
The draft ranks private schools and kindergartens across Jordan in descending order of total score. The top 10% enter the first category and the bottom 10% the sixth, and the rest are spread over four categories of 20% each.
This means a category follows the branch’s position among private schools, not its score alone. In every round, 10% of branches will be in the sixth category, however much schools improve overall.
How branches are spread across the categories
- Top 10%enter the first category
- Four categoriesin the middle, 20% each
- Bottom 10%in the sixth category
The category is a relative ranking: it follows the branch’s position among private schools, not its score alone.
How a branch receives its category
1
Technical committees assess each institution
and prepare a report with its score and category.2
The Classification Committee submits its recommendation
chaired by the relevant Secretary-General, to the Minister.3
The Minister decides within 10 days
of the recommendation being submitted.4
The Ministry publishes the list
of institutions and their categories.5
The certificate displayed prominently and on documents
Each branch displays its category certificate prominently and on its documents.
Institutions must provide the Ministry with the data it requests and enable the technical committees to do their work.
The six assessment domains
The draft sets six domains; the standards, their indicators and their weights will be issued in instructions from the Minister. As of October 2026, we had found nothing to show they had been issued.
- 01
Quality of Education
Lesson planning, classroom teaching, assessment, and three years of student results
- 02
School Environment
Safety and evacuation, facilities, maintenance and transport, and child protection, inclusion and behaviour policies
- 03
Human Resources
Teachers’ qualifications and training, performance appraisal, and staff retention
- 04
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Creativity
The school’s innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives, documented with photos, dates and samples of student work
- 05
Leadership and Management
The strategic plan, self-assessment, meeting minutes and administrative decisions
- 06
Community Partnership
Relations with parents and the parents’ council, partnerships with the local community, and satisfaction surveys
The text under each domain is our reading of the expected evidence, not an official text. The English domain names are our translation.
The closest reference until the instructions are issued
Until the new instructions are issued, schools have a closer official reference: Instructions No. 4 of 2022 on Quality Assurance and Classification Standards and Indicators for public, private and foreign educational institutions and kindergartens.
These instructions combine a qualitative assessment weighted at 80%, spread over four domains, with a quantitative assessment weighted at 20% for private schools, and grade performance on five levels.
Where is the expected gap?
“Human Resources” and “Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Creativity” do not appear as separate domains in the 2022 Instructions; they are the biggest gaps to expect in the move to the new system.
Track two: the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission
The law merges the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission for Higher Education Institutions with the Technical and Vocational Skills Development Commission into one body. Its remit covers general education institutions of all kinds, including private schools and kindergartens.
The law gives the Commission’s board the power to issue accreditation standards and instructions; the standards for schools have not been issued yet. The available sources do not make clear whether accreditation will be mandatory for schools, or how it will relate to the Ministry’s classification.
What a branch can prepare now
A separate evidence file is built for each licensed branch, because each branch is classified on its own. This list is preparatory until the official indicators are issued:
- The branch’s valid licence and its data: stages, student numbers and class sections
- A self-assessment across the six domains, and a dated improvement plan
- Three years of student results, including the Tawjihi, national tests, and IGCSE or IB where offered
- Classroom observation records, lesson plans and samples of student work
- Teacher files: qualifications, training, performance appraisal and staff retention
- Safety, evacuation, maintenance and transport records
- Child protection, inclusion and behaviour policies
- Documentation of innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives, with photos and dates
- The strategic plan, meeting minutes and administrative decisions
- Records of community partnership and the parents’ council, and satisfaction surveys
What is still undecided
- The detailed standards, indicators and weights
- The date of the first classification round
- The amount of the assessment and classification charges the Ministry will collect
- How to appeal a category
- How schools with international tracks, and foreign schools, will be treated
- How the Ministry’s classification will relate to the Commission’s accreditation
We follow these questions as each text is issued, and we inform the schools we work with of any new instructions.
Meyar’s role, and what we do not do
Meyar only prepares the school: it grants no classification or accreditation, has no link to the Ministry or the Commission, and promises no category. The school deals with the official body directly.
- We do not represent the school before the classification committees, and we do not contact their members about any result.
- No member of the Meyar team takes part in committees that assess a school Meyar works with.
- We promise no category, because the category is a relative ranking across Jordan.
Sources
Find out where your branch stands today
The diagnostic is the first step: a site visit, and a report within 10 days with a result for each domain.
Request a readiness diagnosticThis page is general information, not legal advice. The final reference is the official texts as published by the competent authorities.