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AMMAN — “The Ministry of Education seems to be working hard to abolish Tawjihi [General Secondary Education Certificate Examination] in order to adopt the direct university admission system,” the National Campaign for Defending Students' Rights (Thabahtoona) claimed in a statement issued on Sunday.

Despite several attempts by The Jordan Times, the Education Ministry was available for a comment on Thabahtoona’s allegations.

The statement came following a meeting, organised by Thabahtoona in cooperation with a committee of teachers in the scientific branch, where academic and educational experts discussed the repercussions of the Ministry of Education’s decisions on the Tawjihi reform. 

Participants in the meeting questioned the reasons why the ministry approved the new examination system while forecasting further modifications in the following academic year, and criticising the “fragmentation” and “lack of comprehensiveness” in the decision. 

In addition, several experts referred to the outputs of the Educational Conference celebrated back in 2015, stating that their adoption would “contribute to the decline of the educational process and the privatisation of public universities with the abolition of the Tawjihi examination as a criterion for admission".

The statement issued by Thabahtoona attributed the latest directions issued by the ministry with the recommendations of the World Bank in its reports on the status of education in Jordan, stating that “all recent actions taken by the Ministry of Education are in the service of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in terms of reducing the public education budget".

Thabahtoona stressed that the ministry proceeded to the implementation of its decisions without evidence based on scientific studies that supports them, noting that “several academics were surprised to see the ministry developing an examination system based on superficial knowledge of international experiences, let alone the fact that the system established by the Ministry of Education has nothing to do with international regulations and programmes".

Considering the issues discussed at the meeting, Thabahtoona called for “a reform of the educational system starting from the basic stages, developing a classroom environment capable of advancing the educational process while improving teachers' capacities and curricula on the basis of a national educational system rather than Western colonial dictates".

"The prior can only be achieved by revising the budget allocated to the Ministry of Education,” the statement concluded, stressing the need for “real control over the disbursements".

AMMAN — HRH Princess Basma on Monday attended the inauguration ceremony of the 14th international conference of the internal medicine society, which is organised over three days by the society in cooperation with the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the European Federation of Internal Medicine.

The conference attracted several doctors and consultants from Jordan and various European countries, as well as senior students at medicine colleges of Jordanian universities, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Princess Basma highlighted the importance of receiving high quality medical services, considering them as a basic human right.

She referred to the achievements realised by the Jordanian health sector despite challenges imposed by the refugee crisis and scarce resources. Derek Bell, college president, commended the “advanced level” of the medical sector in Jordan, referring to the close cooperation between the college and the society. 

AMMAN — Senate President Faisal Fayez on Monday commended His Majesty King Abdullah's efforts in supporting the Arab and Islamic nations' causes, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Fayez said that during Jordan's presidency of the Arab summit, the Kingdom realised several achievements on various levels and enhanced the Arab joint action, which faced many problems in recent years.

"King Abdullah’s successful presidency has achieved almost an international consensus in refusing the US administration's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital," he said. 

AMMAN — The Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education has received 2,610 nomination applications, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday. Among the applications, 2,471 were for the Distinguished Teacher Award in the 13th edition and 139 for the Distinguished School Counselor Award in the third edition.

This year the number of applicants hit a record since the beginning of the award, according to Petra. The Distinguished Teacher Award was launched on October 5, 2005 by Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania in collaboration with the association on the occasion of teacher’s day.

AMMAN — The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) will host the 10th Annual Warrior Competition, which will be held at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre at the end of the month, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The competition, which takes place from April 29 to May 7, will include 40 teams from 25 Arab and foreign countries in addition to three courtiers participating as observers. The event tests the endurance, perseverance, teamwork, fighting spirit and physical ability of the teams, according to Petra. 

AMMAN — Health Minister Mahmoud Sheyyab and Nigerian Ambassador to Jordan Haruna Ungogo on Monday discussed prospects of cooperation in the health sector between the two countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The two sides agreed on exchanging expertise, mutual meetings and official visits to foster health cooperation. Sheyyab expressed the ministry’s readiness to provide needed support, highlighting Jordan’s accomplishments in the health sector and the development it witnessed in the pharmaceutical industry.

Ungogo commended the high level reached by the medical sector in Jordan and expressed his country’s keenness on enhancing health cooperation, referring to Jordan’s facilitation in granting medical visas for Nigerian patients.

AMMAN — The Jordan Securities Commission (JSC) took legal action against 45 violating companies during the first quarter of 2018, a statement from JSC said on Monday. The actions that were taken against the companies, which have violated the Securities Law, included fines and notifications that were filed in the professional record of those companies.

JSC Chief Commissioner Mohammad Hourani said the measures came to activate the commission’s monitoring role related to transactions at the financial market as part of the commission main goal, which is protecting investors. The violations were related to financial solvency standards, financial disclosure, transactions, margin financing and licensing.

AMMAN — The Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) has arrested three suspected drug dealers in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday.

AND personnel raided a house, where the suspects were staying, arrested them and confiscated 5,000 narcotic pills, 1 kilogramme of hashish and four firearms.

In a separate case, the Jordan Customs Department in cooperation with AND foiled an attempt to smuggle seven palm-sized sheets of hashish and 2,000 Captagon pills out of the country 

AMMAN — The Chinese embassy and Tkiyet Um Ali on Monday signed a financing agreement to support underprivileged families, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Under the agreement, which was signed by Chinese Ambassador to Jordan Pan Weifang and Director General of Tkiyet Um Ali Samer Balqer, the embassy will finance the monthly food packages distributed to families in need “to enhance their economic and social productivity”.

The Chinese ambassador commended the efforts of Takiyet Um Ali as an NGO that seeks to combat food poverty, adding that China will continue supporting Jordan in all fields to help in mitigating the burden of hosting refugees.

AMMAN — The Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) on Monday completed their series of capacity-building workshops as part of the Middle East Partnership Initiative’s civil society project carried out by the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) Institute.

During the final workshop on project budgeting, potential donors met with the participating CBOs from Karak, Zarqa, Mafraq and Amman to discuss opportunities, and provide critical feedback to the projects the CBOs proposed. 

Other topics addressed in different sessions throughout the project were community development, human rights, research methods, problem assessment, project design and proposal writing, and monitoring and evaluation, according to CBOs statement to The Jordan Times.

The CBOs also carried out a work assignment under the supervision of the WANA Institute’s team with the aim of guaranteeing that the theories learned during the workshops can be practiced and implemented, the statement said.