King, via teleconference, chairs follow-up meeting on distance learning procedures

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday called for facilitating distance learning procedures for students and parents, underscoring that safeguarding students’ right to education is everyone’s responsibility, according to a Royal Court statement.

Chairing a meeting via teleconference, also attended remotely by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, to follow up on distance learning procedures for school students, King Abdullah urged applying the highest standards to the distance learning platform and noted the need for continuous evaluation and upgrade to ensure the continuation of the educational process.

During the meeting, attended by HRH Prince Feisal, adviser to His Majesty and chairperson of the National Policies Council, the King said the health and wellbeing of students and teachers is a top priority when making any decision.

The King thanked private sector institutions for cooperating and partnering with the government in service of students.

The government, as part of contingency measures taken to limit the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), closed schools around Jordan and began implementing distance learning programmes, including broadcasting Tawjihi (12th grade) lessons on Jordan Television’s sports channel as of Tuesday.

Speaking at the meeting, attended by senior officials and officers, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz highlighted the government’s preparedness to implement distance learning through a dedicated e-learning platform online, to be launched on Sunday.

Razzaz said the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship will be handling the technical side, while the Ministry of Education will be responsible for the educational content provided to students.

He added that a call centre has been set up to receive inquiries, complaints and suggestions from students and their parents on the technical and content-related aspects of the remote learning experience.

The prime minister said the Digital Economy Ministry, in partnership with the private sector and others, have created the suitable platform for uploading curricula online, noting that access to the platform is free.

For his part, Education Minister Tayseer Nuaimi provided a briefing on the measures taken by the ministry on the distance learning platform in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship and the private sector.

The minister said the platform is based on simplicity and practicality, noting that the main goal at this stage is to provide educational content for students and ensure the continuation of the educational process.

He added that the educational content that will be launched online through Darsak platform (darsak.gov.jo) will be available for students from grade 1 to 12, and it will also be broadcast on two dedicated TV channels, in addition to Jordan Television’s sports channel.