The spokesperson and advisor to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Muhannad Al-Khatib, said on Thursday that the Higher Education Council’s decision to cancel the comprehensive community college exam ("Al-Shamel") comes as part of reviewing and improving admission policies and regulating the quality of the educational process.
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He explained that the decision includes clear regulations to ensure fairness and prevent grade inflation, noting that it is still in its draft stage pending final approval after gathering feedback and observations.
Al-Khatib clarified that the Ministry and the Higher Education Council constantly work on developing regulations governing admissions and education. He added that the Shamel exam is no longer necessary given the development of academic evaluation systems within colleges, especially since associate degree (diploma) students undergo regular evaluations and exams throughout their studies, graduating with a cumulative GPA that makes an additional exam redundant.
He pointed out that Al-Balqa Applied University was previously the sole entity authorized to hold the exam, as it was the only public university granting associate degrees. However, the expansion of technical and vocational education has led to the creation of similar programs at other official universities, including Al al-Bayt, Mutah, and the University of Jordan, making it unjustified for one university to continue supervising an exam for students of other universities.
He noted that the number of General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihi) applicants exceeded a quarter of a million students last year, and that the Shamel exam posed a psychological barrier for many. Canceling it will encourage students to enroll in vocational and applied majors without compromising the quality of outcomes, especially with the presence of an independent Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission, linked to the Prime Minister, which monitors higher education institutions.
Al-Khatib corrected a common misconception that the Shamel exam is a requirement for graduation, clarifying that students obtain their associate degree immediately upon completing their study plan requirements, whereas the exam was exclusively linked to bridging ("Tajseer") procedures to universities.
He explained that students who obtained their diplomas in previous years—whether they passed or failed the Shamel—can bridge based on their best option: either their cumulative GPA or their Shamel score. He added that students of the recent winter session can choose the higher of the two averages.
He added that bridging into the regular program at public universities will require a simple admission exam organized by the Unified Admission Coordination Unit. This is not an achievement test, but rather aims to differentiate between high-scoring students. Competition will be limited to the top 5% of students in each major at each college, calculated based on the cumulative GPA or the Shamel score for the current session only. The Higher Education Council will annually determine the number of allocated seats based on capacity, which may be more or less than this percentage. He noted that for parallel programs and private universities, students can bridge using either average without taking the admission exam.
PetraThe Media Spokesperson and Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Muhannad Al-Khatib, stated on Thursday that the Higher Education Council's decision to cancel the "Shamel" (comprehensive) exam comes as part of reviewing and improving admission policies and ensuring the quality of the educational process.
He explained that the decision includes clear regulations to guarantee fairness and prevent grade inflation, noting that it is still in its initial draft stage ahead of its final approval after gathering feedback and observations.
Al-Khatib clarified that the Ministry and the Higher Education Council are continuously working to develop regulations governing admissions and education. He added that the Shamel exam is no longer necessary given the development of academic assessment systems within colleges, especially since community college students undergo regular evaluations and exams throughout their studies, graduating with a cumulative GPA that makes an additional exam redundant.
He pointed out that Al-Balqa Applied University was previously the only entity authorized to hold the exam as it was the sole public university granting intermediate diploma degrees. However, the expansion of technical and vocational education has led to the creation of similar programs in other official universities—including Al al-Bayt, Mutah, and the University of Jordan—making it unjustified for one university to continue supervising an exam for students of other universities.
He noted that the number of General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihi) applicants exceeded a quarter of a million students last year, and that the Shamel exam formed a psychological barrier for many. Canceling it will help motivate students to enroll in vocational and applied majors without compromising the quality of outcomes, particularly with the presence of an independent Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission linked to the Prime Minister, which oversees higher education institutions.
Al-Khatib corrected a common misconception that the Shamel is a requirement for granting a diploma degree, explaining that a student receives their academic degree immediately upon completing their study plan requirements, whereas the exam was exclusively linked to bridging (university transfer) procedures.
He stated that students who obtained their diplomas in previous years—whether they passed or failed the Shamel—can bridge using their best option: either their cumulative GPA or their Shamel score. Additionally, students from the recent winter session can choose the higher of the two averages.
He added that bridging into the regular program at public universities will require a simple admission exam organized by the Unified Admission Coordination Unit. This is not an achievement test, but rather aims to differentiate between students with high scores. Competition will be limited to the top 5% of students at the specialization level in each college, calculated based on the cumulative GPA or the Shamel score for the current session only. The Higher Education Council will determine the number of allocated seats annually based on capacity, which may be higher or lower than this percentage. He noted that for parallel programs and private universities, bridging is possible based on either average without sitting for the admission exam.
Petra
