His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday paid a visit to Sharif Abdul Hamid Sharaf Secondary School for Boys and attended the students’ morning assembly.

In a ceremony held at the school, King Abdullah honoured the Kingdom’s top achievers in the academic and vocational streams.

The King also signed a note in the visitors’ register of the school, established in 1924, in which he expressed appreciation for the institution’s educational role.

His Majesty listened to a briefing by the headmaster on curriculum and teaching methods. He also toured the workshops of the school – Jordan’s oldest – and instructed the Royal Hashemite Court to coordinate with the Education Ministry and the private sector to renovate the workshops.

Speaking at the morning assembly, Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat said the ministry will review what has been done so far to develop the education sector and build on the positive achievements.

Thneibat added that the ministry will also review laws governing education to ensure that any changes are based on institutionalised teamwork and not individual efforts, noting that a seven-year plan will be prepared to address education needs around the Kingdom.

Plans are also in place to restructure the ministry, he said, to entrench centralised planning and decentralised administration.

After consultations with all stakeholders and concerned committees in Parliament, the ministry will present these modernisation plans to the King at a national education conference, Thneibat noted.