Ukraine urges authorities to revisit reduction of accredited universities

AMMAN — Ukraine has called on the Ministry of Higher Education to reconsider its decision to reduce the number of accredited Ukrainian universities where Jordanian students can study.

The ministry last month revisited the universities accredited in Ukraine and reduced the number from 49 to 16 universities.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Jordan Sergiy Pasko said the embassy is in contact with the ministry to reconsider the decision as some of the institutes that are no longer accredited are in stable areas and well-known for their good quality of education.

The envoy told The Jordan Times on Monday that currently there are some 3,500 Jordanians studying medicine in Ukraine. In addition, Jordanians who graduated from Ukraine make up the largest number of doctors in Jordan after graduates from local and Egyptian universities.

Referring to the incident that took place in June, where four Jordanian students were injured during “a mass brawl on a university campus area”, the ambassador said it was exceptional and had never happened before at that university.

He added that authorities investigated the case and the individuals who were involved were referred to the judiciary.

Moreover, despite the difficult economic situation in Ukraine, efforts are under way to increase number of scholarships provided to Jordanian students, which are currently four.

According to Pasko, Ukraine has proposed renewing the agreement signed in 2002 and
raising the number to
20 or 30.