His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday directed the government to increase financial support for state universities, as recommended in a plan previously ordered by His Majesty to reform higher education.
In a follow-up meeting with presidents of public universities, King Abdullah was briefed on the plan, which also seeks government support to fully pay back debts of the country's 10 public universities and more than triple the financial capacity of the Student Fund.
The King stressed the importance of having a clear executive plan that all stakeholders agree on as the first step towards reforming the higher education sector.
But he urged universities to come up with “unconventional ways” to enhance their financial situation, calling on each university to draw up an action plan of its own to achieve higher education reform with utmost transparency in cooperation with other universities.
He also reiterated the need for a greater focus on scientific research, saying that innovation should be encouraged and that higher education outcomes should be linked to market needs.
King Abdullah emphasised the importance of continuing to support the Student Fund and enabling underprivileged students to study at universities. He also said private sector support for the fund should be increased and that living conditions of faculty members should be enhanced.
The 2012-2015 action plan, prepared by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and university presidents following a meeting with the King last month, seeks to develop the quality of education and produce graduates who are competitive locally, regionally and internationally.
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Wajih Owais noted that the plan entails a recommendation to amend laws governing higher education, such as the Higher Education and Scientific Research Law and the Universities Law to ensure the independence of universities through providing the boards of trustees with more academic, administrative and financial authorities.
The plan also provides for reforming intermediate community colleges and separating academic and technical education.
Regarding university admission requirements, Owais said that the plan entails accepting 60 per cent of those who pass the Tawjihi and guiding the rest to technical and vocational colleges, in addition to drawing up a mechanism to revisit “exceptional” admissions.
It also includes raising the minimum admission average gradually in certain majors to achieve justice and equality and ensure the quality of higher education outcomes.
The financial aspect of the plan demands the government pay all state universities’ debts, raise the annual support from JD70 million to JD120 million for a three-year period and increase the annual support for the Student Fund from JD6 million to JD20 million.
King Abdullah ordered the government to increase the financial support to the universities and continue supporting the fund, which offers soft loans to students facing challenges in meeting the cost of higher education.
The plans also focus on the need to restructure university fees, adhering to quality standards in terms of the number of students to faculty members, in addition to merging similar specialisations and reapplying the competence test.
As for scientific research, the plan called for establishing labs and allocating five per cent of each university’s budget for research purposes.
Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit called on all higher education institutes to cooperate to implement the plan, stressing the need to address challenges facing the higher education sector to restore the reputation of the Kingdom’s universities.