Cabinet endorses draft laws aimed at enhancing governance, promoting media independence

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Saturday approved several draft laws aimed at enhancing governance, advancing education reform, and promoting media independence.

As part of the government's ongoing public sector modernisation efforts, the Council of Ministers, in a session chaired by Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, approved the draft rationale for amending the 2025 Law on Restructuring Government Institutions and Ministries, according to a Prime Ministry statement.

The proposed law seeks to streamline three key bodies—the Vocational and Technical Skills Development Commission, the Education Quality Assurance and Accountability Unit, and the Higher Education Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission—into a unified entity, the "Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission/Authority."

This new body will be responsible for overseeing regulation, accreditation, and quality assurance across the education and human resources development sectors, incorporating international best practices to enhance effectiveness and ensure excellence.

Under the draft amendment and to bolster media independence, the chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation and the Jordan News Agency (Petra)

can be either the minister of government communications or appointed by the prime minister.

The Council also approved a draft bylaw on impact assessment of legislation and policies for 2025, where all government legislation, policies and decisions will be subject to mandatory impact assessments to ensure their quality and effectiveness.

Impact assessments will include a preliminary assessment of expected outcomes and a follow-up assessment after implementation.

By institutionalising the process, the government aims to align legislative and policy decisions with national strategic priorities and enhance their long-term stability.

The bill will apply to all initiatives with potential social, economic or environmental impacts, with a specialised unit within the Cabinet Secretariat overseeing the process, ensuring that ministries and government agencies base their decisions on robust and evidence-based studies.