Khaberni - The Parliamentary Education Committee, chaired by MP Ibrahim Al-Qaralh, discussed a number of educational issues and university education today, Monday, in the presence of the Minister of Education, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Azmi Province.
Al-Qaralh emphasized that education is one of the most vital and influential sectors in the lives of citizens, and it is a top national priority due to its role in human development and enhancing development pathways, stressing that the committee is monitoring various educational files due to their complexity and continuity, in a way that ensures the continuity of the educational process.
He pointed out that the committee discussed the file of recognizing high school diplomas for students studying in Turkey and reviewed the governmental procedures taken to address this file, calling for allowing current students to take final exams at universities until a final decision is made on their status.
He stressed the importance of expanding the scope to include as many students as possible in the Student Support Fund, given the financial burdens faced by citizens, while emphasizing the enhancement of transparency standards in the fund's governing instructions.
He added that the committee will explore the reality of the curricula set for the general secondary stage through specialized meetings involving experts from the educational field, stressing the importance of developing curricula to consider practical aspects and students' abilities.
On his part, the governor clarified that there are principles and instructions that regulate the recognition of high school certificates issued from abroad, noting that the problem is concentrated in the period between 2021 and 2023, before the issuance of the regulating instructions.
He detailed that the number of students who applied for recognition of their certificates issued from Turkey reached 18,882, with certificates of 18,350 of them being recognized, while the Turkish government reported 404 certificates as invalid, and 96 certificates are still under follow-up through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, affirming the ministry's readiness to review any certificate around which a dispute arises.
He pointed to the approval of new amendments to the principles and instructions of the Student Support Fund, whereby 400 points are allocated for the economical condition, 300 points for the academic status, 200 points for the number of siblings, 100 points for geographic distance, and 100 points for humanitarian cases, with the addition of disability cases to the humanitarian section and the cancellation of the medical report item.
He revealed that the number of applicants for scholarships and loans this year reached 83,191 students, expecting that scholarships and loans will cover about 56,000 students, representing 75 percent of the applicants, with a total value of approximately 60 million Jordanian dinar.
He explained that the issue of the density of general secondary courses recurs annually for reasons not only related to the curricula themselves, but also to other factors, noting that the National Center for Curriculum Development has been addressed to study the feedback from students and address it within a scientific framework that considers the volume of the material and the allotted periods, ensuring that the committee and students are informed of any potential changes in a timely manner.
For their part, the MPs: Tamara Nasser al-Din, Rania Khleifat, Issa Nassar, Ahmad Al-Raqb, Ibrahim Al-Hamidi, Jameel Al-Diheissat, Mohammad Al-Muraeiah, Hussein Kreshan, and Ali Al-Ghazawi raised a number of questions regarding the issues presented, affirming the necessity to complete the file of students studying in Turkey and enhance the role of the ministry’s media in clarifying the principles and instructions for the recognition of certificates from abroad.
