His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday described social violence, which has been on the rise recently particularly on university campuses, as a worry for all Jordanians and a threat to their noble values.
At a meeting with several national figures to discuss the issue, King Abdullah said that addressing the phenomenon of social violence requires a holistic review and efforts from all parties, calling for enhancing noble values starting from the family to the school and the university to strengthen the social fabric and protect the country and its achievements.
“The polarisation we see today is encouraging the creation of an unhealthy environment that leads to declining trust between members of our one family and sows hatred among people,” His Majesty said.
The disorder caused by domestic and campus violence as well as hooliganism at stadiums and assaults against public servants is a result of the decline in values that bring all Jordanians together, he added.
The King urged academic institutions, particularly universities, to boost social values and explain the dangers that violence poses to the Kingdom’s development.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh indicated that the government will study research on social violence conducted by social experts and academicians in a bid to take practical solutions to combat the phenomenon.
The premier stressed the need for revisiting the Criminal Trial Procedures Law in order to speed up the judiciary’s handling of complaints, adding that slow processing of such cases results in resorting to tribal violence to solve the problem.
He also called for striking a balance in education process inputs, noting that unbalanced leisure time at universities favours an atmosphere conducive to violence.
Participants in the meeting, including representatives of the judiciary, academicians and students, talked about the reasons that ignite social violence, suggesting some solutions to overcome the problem.
They called for reviewing student admission policies by cancelling quotas reserved to certain communities to ensure justice and equality, adding that university admissions should be based on academic results and grades in the Tawjihi (General Secondary Education Certificate).
They said inequality in university admission feeds the feeling of inequality that causes despair and frustration among students.
What made the phenomenon of social violence even worse, the speakers said, is that efforts to address the issue focused on the symptoms of the phenomenon and not its causes.
Lack of strict legal punishment against those responsible for violence, particularly at universities, is one of the reasons for further social violence, the experts said in their discussions.
Yesterday’s meeting took place as clashes between students at the University of Jordan erupted for a second consecutive day on Sunday, with two groups of students from two tribes throwing rocks and hitting each other with sticks.