AMMAN —
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Wajih Owais sent a circular to the heads of public and
private Jordanian universities and deans of faculties on Monday, asking them not
to prevent students from sitting for the final exams unless they pay university
fees.
اضافة اعلان
Official Spokesman of the ministry
Mohannad Al-Khatib told
Jordan News that the minister’s instructions are
prompted by the hard economic conditions Jordanians have been witnessing since
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and are an affirmation of the role of
Jordanian universities and their social responsibility toward citizens, helping
mitigate the negative effects the pandemic had on many.
Khatib said that the majority of
universities have been cooperating with the ministry since the beginning of the
pandemic, and have been taking measures that work in the students’ interest, adding
that “students’ complaints have reduced significantly since the beginning of
the pandemic; “we only receive a few complaints every now and then, and through
this circular, we aim to highlight the universities’ eagerness to support
students,” he added.
He also said that despite the fact
that universities are financially and administratively independent
institutions, “the minister sets out the main lines of the universities’
approach, and they highly adhere to them”.
Vice President of the
University of Jordan for Administrative and Financial Affairs Salameh Nuaimat told
Jordan
News that the university did not prevent any student from sitting for the
exams and that the university will never resort to such action.
“We work in the interest of our
students, and we have been ensuring that none of our students is prevented from
sitting for the exams, even before the Ministry of Higher Education issued its circular.”
Fathi Al-Faouri, dean of student
affairs at the
University of Petra, told
Jordan News that before the ministry
issued its instructions, the university, in coordination with all concerned departments,
had taken the decision not to prevent students who had not paid the fees from sitting
for their exams in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that affects Jordan and the
whole world.
Faouri said that after they received
the ministry’s circular, “I issued an official letter, at the request of the president
of the university, to inform deans and heads of departments to not prevent any
student from sitting for their exams”.
Mohammad, who refused to give his
full name or the name of his university, said he once was prevented from taking
his exams because of failure to pay the required fees, adding that the
ministry’s decision should be in force even after the pandemic, “especially
that I believe that universities should put education above financial interests”.
He said that “universities should
not turn into institutions whose first and last objective is money. In the end,
we are youths that try our best to balance between our expenses and our
education and they should feel for us”.
He added that his university did not
care that he was among the students who excelled in their studies, “when I
could not pay the fees, they simply stopped me from sitting for my exam”.
The pandemic made an already bad
economic situation worse, he said, “and therefore, I urge all universities to seriously
reconsider their actions, like preventing students from sitting for their exams,
from now on”.
Coordinator of the National Campaign
for Student Rights “
Dabahtoona” Fakher Daas told
Jordan News that while
the ministry’s decision is a good step, “we were hoping that the ministry would
oblige all universities to not stop students from taking their exams, not send
a circularonly”.
Daas said that a similar
recommendation was given by the Ministry of Education during the first
semester, yet his organization received hundreds of complaints from students
prevented from taking exams as “some universities did not adhere to the ministry’s
instruction and, as a result, many students were deprived of their right to sit
for their exams”.
“In light of the defense orders, the
Ministry of Higher Education has the full right to oblige universities to allow
students to take their exams, yet the minister only chose to issue a
recommendation, and I believe that it is not enough,” said Daas.
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