‘No second thoughts’ on vocational training plan — minister

AMMAN — The Education Ministry has said it was carrying on with a plan to transfer 10th graders whose scores are below 59.9 per cent to applied secondary education, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.

Deputy Prime Minister for Services and Minister of Education Mohammad Thneibat said the decision has not been reversed, brushing off what some media outlets published about the ministry retracting the move. 

Thneibat said the decision is to be implemented gradually by transferring students in the 10th grade whose average is between 50 and 59.9 per cent to applied secondary education whether in the ministry’s schools for the girls or vocational training institutes around the Kingdom and schools for boys that offer vocational training. 

The ministry has taken all the necessary preparations to implement the decision, the official said, highlighting the efforts to increase the ratio of students in applied education from 12 per cent to 20 per cent during the upcoming years, reaching 30 or 40 per cent in 10 years from now. 

The Education Ministry agreed with the Vocational Training Corporation (VTC) to accept 4,000 students in its facilities around the Kingdom starting next year, instead of 2,000, Thneibat announced, adding that an agreement is to be signed with the VTC in the coming few days.

The ministry and the VTC have recently signed an agreement to implement the applied secondary education programme through the corporation’s centres around the Kingdom.