His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday urged university students to engage in the development and reform process and renounce violence, a phenomenon he said “does not represent Jordanian values and threatens our educational process”.
At a meeting with a number of student unions’ presidents at state universities, King Abdullah called on them to cooperate with university administrations and the Ministry of Higher Education to draft a strategy within the next weeks that sets practical solutions to address campus violence, which he said has become a “worrying” trend.
“We are counting on you, and the country needs your contributions,” the King said, stressing the important role students can play in combating university violence through entrenching the culture of dialogue and accepting others’ opinions.
King Abdullah, who met with several national figures to discuss this issue last week, pinpointed shortcomings in society, and warned against their negative impact on development and growth. However, he voiced optimism that the coming stage will see the fruits of an ongoing comprehensive reform process.
“There are a great deal of opportunities ahead of us, and I am very optimistic about the future,” he said.
King Abdullah urged youth to focus with a positive perspective on the future rather than on the past and the negative aspects of the present. “I hope that you, as a new generation, play an integral role in the parliamentary and municipal elections and maximise national achievements,” he said.
The King warned that the wider phenomenon of community violence is a threat to the safety and well-being of society as a whole, urging all Jordanians to work together to address it constructively.
For their part, student leaders attributed the phenomenon to different factors, including lack of extracurricular activities, “poor” infrastructure and absence of dialogue among students themselves and between universities and local communities.
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Rowaida Maaitah said a meeting will be held soon with university presidents to discuss violence in higher education institutions, adding that the issue will also be discussed with students and their parents.
She underlined that values are not instilled only through books, adding that society and professors play a role in raising students’ awareness of different national causes and ways to deal with them.
The minister said the civic education course at universities will be reviewed to focus on the concepts of good citizenship and protecting public properties. She added that the ministry is studying linking majors in humanities with field training programmes to ensure that students interact with society and spend their free time constructively. Maaitah also pointed out the need to enhance the independence of university presidents.
Other attendees, who also included university presidents and deans, called for allowing organised partisan work on campuses, which would improve students’ cultural awareness. They also underlined the need to re-train university security personnel and give them law enforcers status.
Other participants commented that some of the students involved in brawls do not represent tribes, but rather undermine the reputation and values of Jordanian society.