Gov’t, MPs agree to ‘re-examine’ university admission criteria

AMMAN — The Lower House and the government on Sunday agreed to refer the new admission criteria for public universities to the Higher Education Council for further examination.

The dispute between the legislative and executive authorities over the controversial admission criteria ended after a meeting Sunday attended by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour and Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The two sides agreed that the Higher Education Council will revisit the new admission criteria for public universities provided that results of this year's General Secondary Examination (Tawjihi) are taken into consideration, Petra said.

The council last month decided to raise the minimum score for admission to public universities from 65 to 70 and at private universities from 60 to 65, starting the 2015-2016 academic year.

During the meeting, Tarawneh described the announcement of the admission criteria as “untimely” especially as it came just one week before the Tawjihi exams started.

Tarawneh also described the new admission criteria as “unfair” and “unacceptable”, calling at the same time for increasing the seats at public universities, especially for students coming from the badia and rural regions, according to Petra.

His statements came against calls to streamline the admission process, which has led to 40 per cent of state universities’ seats to be taken by students on “exceptional lists”, according to one study. Studies have shown that these students are more involved in campus violence.  

Head of the House’s Education Committee Bassam Btoush claimed that higher education is no longer a priority for the government, also citing the lack of harmony and cooperation between the ministers of education and higher education. 

Echoing Tarawneh’s remarks, Ensour stressed that the higher education council’s decision was “untimely” and should have been announced after the Tawjihi results.

Ensour also said that changing the admission criteria is such a sensitive issue which has its political and social dimensions and  thus “better be re-examined”.