AMMAN –– The increasingly harsh economic situation should
prompt adequate support for the Students Fund, members of Parliament have said.
Deputy Hayel Ayesh, member of the House
Economy and Investment Committee, told
Jordan News that the total number of students who
have applied for loans from the fund this year is 78,000, of whom only 47,000 received
approvals.
اضافة اعلان
The figure is much higher than those of previous years, and
this may be attributed to the "difficult economic situation", which
calls for revisiting the regulations governing the fund to ensure that they are
"fair", he added.
Students agree. Judi Yahya, a sophomore studying law, filled
an application last year, but was rejected. She said she was pinning hope on
the loan to pay her fees, which would cover two semesters and the summer courses,
45 credit hours in total. Now she is considering dropping out for a whole year.
A junior accounting student, Rania, is considering a similar
decision. "My brother is also studying at university and my family cannot
spend on two," she said.
MP
Bilal Al-Momani, member of the House panel on education,
urged the government and public shareholding companies to extend support to the
fund, to make sure that all eligible applicants receive loans that would help
them cover the cost of their education.
He said that out of the number of applicants who had met the
criteria, which totaled 75,000, only 47,000 received loans, which left 28,000
without any form of support. The excuse, he said, was that the fund is
struggling with a serious cash deficit.
Eligibility criteria for would-be beneficiaries from the
Students Fund include: having Jordanian citizenship, a GPA not lower than 2
points or 60 percent in the semester preceding the time of application, and
proof that the financial situation of the applicant is difficult. Applicants
should also have a Jordanian general secondary education certificate and a clearance
certificate for the period they study at university.
Read more National news
.jpg)
.jpg)
