Khaberni - The head of the Parliamentary Financial Committee, Nimer Al-Slihat, said that the roles of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education are pivotal in building generations through the selection of educational curricula that are purposeful and keep up with contemporary developments, contributing to shaping the future of the nation's children.
This was discussed during the committee's meeting on Wednesday, addressing the ministry's budget and the Arabic Language Academy, attended by the Minister of Education Azmi Governorate, the Secretary-General for Administrative and Financial Affairs Sahar Shkhatreh, and the head of the Arabic Language Academy Dr. Mohammed Adnan Al-Bakhit.
Al-Slihat referred to the committee's desire to review educational policies and curricula to align them with knowledge and education requirements, in addition to vocational and technical education programs, the specialized "Baitak" program, and other developmental plans.
For his part, Governorate affirmed that education is an investment in the future, and that the ministry is working on its development based on the Jordanian Constitution, with an approach focusing on the quality of education and targeting students at advanced educational levels.
He referred to the royal directives on educational reform, particularly in vocational education, explaining the contracting with a specialized company to develop the "Baitak" system, which has been joined by 18,000 students since its launch, adding sports and health specializations, with currently 245 vocational schools.
He added that the coming years will witness the construction of new vocational schools through multiple grants, in addition to converting 5 vocational training centers into vocational schools, pointing out the training of 12,000 teachers before and after employment, with continued training of 4,000 teachers pre-service annually, as from 2027 no teacher will be appointed without obtaining a diploma in Teacher Preparation and Training.
Governorate highlighted the allocation of land plots for teachers and the establishment of special clubs for them in governorates that lack them, in addition to 4,500 students benefiting from the royal grant for teachers' children, which increased its percentage to 10%, with 5% allocated for new grants and loans.
Regarding rented schools, he clarified that 20 percent of the kingdom's schools are rented, and the ministry is working to build new schools to eliminate the need for them, confirming the endeavor to make education in kindergartens (KG2) mandatory, with 70 percent of children currently enrolled, in addition to allocating 20 million dollars to build new kindergartens, and providing incentives for unlicensed kindergartens to expedite the licensing process, as literacy rate in Jordan stands at 4.9 percent according to Governorate.
In a related context, the committee discussed the higher education ministry's budget, where Al-Slihat clarified that it amounted to 131 million dinars with a growth of 9.6 million dinars, mostly in recurrent expenses.
He stressed the importance of the Arabic language and its preservation, referring to the initiative of His Highness Crown Prince Hussein "ض", aimed at enhancing the status of the Arabic language and developing digital empowerment technologies and enriching Arabic content online.
For their part, committee members emphasized the need to protect the Arabic language and enhance its presence.
Al-Bakhit presented the major challenges facing the Arabic language, stressing the need to preserve it and study the reality of its use in courts.
He mentioned forming a committee to monitor radio and television programs to review the pronunciation aspects of the program hosts.
In turn, Deputy Head of the Academy Dr. Ibrahim Badran emphasized the importance of protecting the Arabic language and enhancing its cultural and cognitive role.
