‘33,675 apply for public universities’

AMMAN — Around 33,675 students have applied to public universities through the Unified Admission Committee (UAC), the Higher Education Council announced on Thursday.

The ministry has received the applications, which were submitted electronically, the council said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The deadline for online applications to the undergraduate programme in nine public universities was midnight on Wednesday, according to UAC Director Ghaleb Hourani, who added that the deadline would not be extended. .

Some 27,402 students passed the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) with a score of 65 or above, according to the statement.

Tawjihi results determine which university a student can attend as well as what major the student can study.

Higher Education Ministry Secretary General Hani Dmour said that students who scored 65 or above could apply to public universities’ regular undergraduate programmes.

“There are certain criteria for those willing to apply. The priority goes to students who received the required score for each major, this also depends on the university and the major’s requirements,” Dmour told The Jordan Times.

Five per cent of the seats are allocated for students who finished school with a non-Jordanian certificate, the official said, adding that the priority for applications at public universities is for Tawjihi certificate holders.

“Last year, universities announced there would be around 24,000 seats available for prospective students, but only 19,000 registered,” Dmour said, adding that around 24,000 to 25,000 students were expected to register this year.  

The nine public universities accepting applications through the UAC’s online system have a total capacity of 27,400, he said. 

The German-Jordanian University, which is also public, allows students to apply directly. Students who are not accepted into the regular programme at public universities can apply to the parallel or international programmes, Dmour said.

The parallel programme allows students who do not meet the academic criteria for a subject to enrol at a higher cost.  

In the parallel programme at the University of Jordan (UJ), a single credit hour costs between JD65 and JD175 for medicine students, JD60 to JD95 for science majors and JD45 to JD90 for humanities or language students, according to the UJ’s registration department. Meanwhile, international students at UJ pay between JD126 and JD450 per credit hour.