UJ says raising tuition fees ‘last resort’ to narrow budget deficit

AMMAN — A decision by the University of Jordan (UJ) to increase tuition fees of some programmes is the “last resort to save the university” which is suffering from a budget deficit, UJ President Ekhleif Tarawneh said on Monday.

The 27 per cent deficit in the university’s JD140- million budget prompted the board of trustees to decide earlier this week to increase tuition fees of postgraduate and parallel programmes for new students as of the next academic year, Tarawneh told The Jordan Times over the phone.

“Raising the tuition was our last option,” he said, adding that students who are already enrolled now are not subjected to the new fees.

The National Campaign for Defending Students’ Rights (Thabahtoona) criticised the decision, and is organising a protest at noon on Wednesday in front of UJ’s main gate, according to its Facebook page.

The protest will be held under the slogan “We will not pay the bill for your corruption,” Thabahtoona said, reporting an increase ranging between 100 and 180 per cent in the fees.

Over 2,000 people are expected to participate in the protest, according to the Facebook page dedicated for the event.

The price of one credit hour in a UJ MA programme now ranges between JD150 and JD230, while one PhD hour costs between JD180 and JD250 depending on the specialty.

Tarawneh said more than JD20 million is needed to cover the cost of accepting students through the Unified Admission List.

“The fees paid by students do not cover the cost of their enrolment and this is the reason why we had to find a way to compensate for [what] we pay,” he explained.

Around 40,000 students are currently studying at the university.

Higher Education Minister Amin Mahmoud was unavailable for comment on the government’s support for public universities despite several attempts by The Jordan Times.

UJ says it has only received JD1 million from the government this year, but in previous remarks to The Jordan Times, Mahmoud said he will push for increasing the government’s financial support to public universities.

The government provides JD57 million annually to all public universities and the contribution varies from one university to another, he said at the time.