Olympic gold medallist criticises UJ for ‘cancelling his registration’

AMMAN — Olympic gold medallist Ahmad Abu Ghaush has protested that the University of Jordan (UJ) has cancelled his registration for this semester, a claim the university denied despite the taekwondo champion exceeding his allowed absences.

The 20-year-old, who won the first Olympic medal for Jordan at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this August, posted on his Facebook account on Wednesday that his absences were due to his travel to represent the Kingdom, receive local, regional and international awards, as well as hold interviews.

He charged that physical education students like him are asked to achieve titles, but when it comes to reality, the university does not support nor excuse its students for their absences. 

“I do not wish to send a negative message to athletes in all fields of sports, but at UJ you have to choose between athletics or studying,” he wrote on Facebook. 

Meanwhile, the university’s media director, Suleiman Farajat, said UJ students are allowed to miss up to 15 per cent of their classes, while students officially representing the university can miss up to 20 per cent of classes each semester. 

Students participating in competitions outside Jordan can request a permit to miss up to 25 per cent of classes, Farajat added.

“Abu Ghaush has barely attended any classes since the beginning of the semester, and he did not drop the courses before the assigned deadline,” the official said, adding that the university will allow him to file a request to drop the semester, although the deadline has already passed.

Instructors list the names of students who did not abide by attendance regulations by the end of each semester and send them to the faculty’s registrar. 

As a result, students are not allowed to sit for the final exam, and have to retake the course and pay its fees again.

The university did not cancel Abu Ghaush’s registration in a step to support his athletic achievement, said Farajat, noting that cancelling students’ registrations does not affect their grades but it would be as if they did not register for classes during that semester altogether. 

He said the best option for Abu Ghaush, who has so far passed six credit hours and is registered for 15 this semester, is to drop the semester and retake the courses, as he is not likely to pass the final exams because he barely attended any classes through the semester and “over-exceeded” allowed absences.

Abu Ghaush, who has won the world’s best taekwondo player prize in a ceremony held in Azerbaijan, is a role model for student athletes and should give more attention to attendance and academic performance, the UJ official said.

UJ has granted the Olympic gold medallist a full scholarship in recognition of his recent win in Rio.

beIN Sports commentator Othman Qraini commented on the university’s decision on his Facebook account saying that Abu Ghaush’s achievement is highly appreciated, but it cannot be his pretext for continuously missing classes at the university.

He added that university scholarships for athletes in the US, a leading country in Olympic records, encourage students to balance athletic and academic achievements.