Around 42,000 unvaccinated students barred from campus entry — officials

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A photo of college students at the University of Jordan’s campus. The Ministry of Education stated that 26,363 students have been vaccinated with at least one dose since the beginning of this year. (Photo: Xinhua)
AMMAN — The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research said on Tuesday that the number of students who were unable to enter the campus at all public and private Jordanian universities and colleges since Defense Order 35 came into force on January 1, amounted to a total of 42,137 students. اضافة اعلان

The Ministry added that 26,363 students have been vaccinated with at least one dose since the beginning of this year, however Defense Order 35 specifically mandated two doses, indicating that receiving one dose was not sufficient to determine entry.

Some 6,648 students from the group of 26,363 students have received only one dose, while the Ministry has confirmed that the remaining 19,714 of them have rectified their situation since then, and have now received the two doses, which was confirmed by their respective educational institutions.

Currently, there are 22,423 students in total who are disallowed from entering their university campuses due to their non-compliance with Defense Order 35’s provisions. These non-compliant students constitute 6.4 percent of the total number of students enrolled in public and private Jordanian universities. The total number of students who are enrolled in all Jordanian higher education schools is 348,572 male and female students, according to the Ministry.

The total number of faculty members, administrators, and students from both public and private universities in the Kingdom exceeds 377,000 people, and the ministry stated that 95 percent of all those individuals received at least one dose. It also said that the number of people in the higher education sector, encompassing administrators, faculty members, and students, who have received a third dose is 12,336 people, comprising 3.3 percent of all faculty members and students in all public and private universities and colleges.

Students who may have missed an exam due to their non-compliant vaccine status were asked to proceed with the second dose, and once they have done so to contact their school officials with proof of the vaccine and excuse of absence from the exam to schedule a makeup test.  

Dean of Student Affairs at Petra University Fathi Faouri told Jordan News that the latest data at his university shows that 95 percent of all individuals, including staff and students have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, praising the university’s compliance with the government's defense orders.

“We are in full support of the government’s policies, because the health and safety of our students is at the top of all our priorities. Non-complying students at our universities can expect that their exams will be postponed,” Faouri said.

He said however that although those students were not allowed on campus, they have not been completely isolated from their studies and have been allowed access to their respective professors to ask any academic related questions.

Nawzat Abu Al-Asal, director of the Department of Public Relations and Media at Yarmouk University told Jordan News, that last week, nearly 3,000 students have rectified their situation and have taken the two doses.  “We hope that the percentage of students who are vaccinated at our university will increase in the coming weeks.”

According to Abu Al-Asal, “students who have not taken two vaccine doses are not allowed to attend classes physically, but their ability to attend classes online depends on the specific course, since some courses have online options, while others do not.”

She said that many students have complained about being denied access to campus to attend classes and sit for exams, but that the university stood firm in compliance with the defense orders. “They have to understand that the university must follow these government regulations.”

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