Proposed preparatory year for universities to result in fee hike — campaign

AMMAN — The National Campaign for Defending Students’ Rights (Thabahtoona), warned of major price hikes in unified admission fees upon the government’s plan to approve the preparatory year for universities.

On Wednesday, Thabahtoona Coordinator Fakher Daas told The Jordan Times that “adopting the preparatory year project and increasing unified admission fees will automatically cancel public universities’ parallel programme”.

In a statement sent to The Jordan Times, the Thabahtoona campaign said that the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is planning on gradually removing the parallel programme, through applying the preparatory year course and increasing unified admission fees in all public universities.

Expressing his surprise regarding revisiting the portfolio of the preparatory year in public schools, Daas said that the preparatory year was implemented three years ago and “it did not achieve the desired objectives, leading to its cancellation”.

“The preparatory year project is part of the National Strategy for Human Resource Development, however three years earlier, it was cancelled after less than a year from its adoption,” according to Daas, noting that back then the project was implemented without price changes.

The statement also showed that implementing the preparatory year project would unify the fees of each major in all public universities, thereby requiring payment of the higher fees.

The Higher Education minister said during a meeting of the Parliamentary Education and Youth Committee last week that “after two years from now, there will be a preparatory year for admissions to medicine and dentistry majors”.

He added that the ministry is in the process of cancelling the parallel programme, although it generates millions, noting that at first an alternative must be provided.

In an interview on Al Mamlaka TV, the minister highlighted the challenges facing the Kingdom’s universities, noting that “universities are highly indebted and face major problems”.

He added that he is currently working on a plan to bring it to the Cabinet in less than a month to assist the universities in Jordan.

The Jordan Times contacted the ministry’s spokesperson on Wednesday, but he was not available to comment.