Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania inaugurated the Royal Academy for the Blind in Amman, which will provide educational services to over 150 visually impaired students.

The King asked for the academy to be established in 2007, to replace the Abdullah Ben Umm Maktoum School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

During a tour of the new building, His Majesty instructed the concerned authorities to assess current conditions at the Abdullah Ben Umm Maktoum School and another school for the visually impaired in Abdoun, and to proceed to rehabilitating the two facilities, if need be.

The King also directed concerned authorities to follow up on the new academy’s needs and draw a plan to supply it with needed technical facilities, transportation services and staff.

The four-storey building, a joint effort by the Royal Court, Ministry of Education and Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities (HCD), is built on a 7,000-square-metre plot of land. It counts 109 employees, 33 of whom are visually impaired. The academy provides occupational therapy to students, and hosts training for their teachers.

Minister of Education Tayseer Nueimi briefed Their Majesties, in the presence of HRH Prince Raad, Chief Chamberlain and the president of the HCD, on the academy’s departments and facilities. He said the academy provides a learning experience through the latest technology and methods of teaching the visually impaired.

Their Majesties spoke to students and educators, who highlighted the academy’s programmes to build the capacity of the visually impaired students in order to integrate them in the society.