His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday directed the government to exempt public school students from paying annual fees for the 2008-2009 academic year to mitigate the difficult economic conditions citizens are currently undergoing.

During a visit on Sunday to the Jafr District in Maan Governorate, the King said he will personally pay these fees to the Education Ministry, estimated at around JD5 million.

According to Education Minister Tayseer Nueimi, the Royal makruma will relieve around 1.121 million students from paying the annual donations, which range between JD3 and JD6 per student.

Although public school education in the Kingdom is free, the contributions are used for school requirements including minor repairs.

During today's visit, the King told Jafr residents that tackling the problems of poverty and unemployment are top priorities.

King Abdullah also underlined the importance of addressing challenges, mainly those related to healthcare and education.

At the beginning of the visit, the King inaugurated the Queen Rania Al Abdullah Basic Co-educational School and Al Jafr Youth Centre which were built as part of a group of projects that the King issued directives for during a previous visit to the area around two years ago.

The new school is equipped with modern facilities such as labs and computers.

The two projects seek to improve services and the level of education provided to youngsters in Jafr, where unemployment is a major issue.