PM calls for safeguarding higher education achievements

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Thursday stressed the importance of safeguarding the accomplishments of the higher education sector, which have rendered it attractive to Arab and foreign students.

During a meeting with Higher Education Minister Labib Khadra and other ministry officials, the premier said this calls for reviewing the drive of the higher education sector to maximise its strengths and address its weaknesses. 

Khadra briefed the premier on the ministry’s strategy and its executive plan for next year, in addition to the sector’s challenges, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Main challenges lie in the government’s cuts to expenditures in support of the higher education sector and in the increasing numbers of students who opt for academic studies and refrain from vocational education, Khadra said. 

He said those who join vocational education are no more than 10 per cent of the number of students joining academic programmes.

Also, there is the question of quality education, follow-up and accountability that are not applied as part of regulations, besides the high percentage of unemployment among university graduates, Khadra noted, according to Petra. 

The total number of students at Jordanian universities for 2015 was 313,500, and the figure is expected to be around 450,000 in 2025 as around 44,000 students annually join universities’ regular programmes, according to the minister. 

He stressed that the number of students at public universities is beyond their capacities by around 55,000 students. 

The minister stressed the need to support vocational training programmes at community colleges, stressing the importance of amending the legislation governing the Civil Service Bureau in a manner that would grant intermediate college graduates fair benefits when they join the labour market. 

Khadra also said the Higher Education Council will re-examine its previous decision to raise the minimum score for university admission in accordance with the results of the  General Secondary Education Certificate Examination’s (Tawjihi) results, as agreed on during a recent meeting with the Lower House.

Regarding the projected Sino-Jordanian university, he said it will be a technical university where students study for three years in Jordan and two in China.

The Chinese government will cover students’ residency costs in the last two years and provide places for practical training for one year, he noted. 

The Cabinet on July 14 decided to allocate 1,000 dunums in Jiza for the purpose of building the university. A total of 500 dunums will be allocated for the university and the same for a scientific incubator.

The projected university will comprise three faculties that offer 15 majors, in addition to two specialised centres for research, language teaching and diploma programmes.