(MENAFN- Jordan Times) AMMAN — Minister of Education Walid Maani refuted rumours concerning Tawjihi leaks and addressed recent changes to the exams during an interview with Jordan Television's '60 Minutes' programme on Friday night.
Discussing the government's achievements in the education sector, the minister said that accomplisments outweighed the challenges the ministry had faced, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
On Tawjihi (the general secondary education certificate examination), the minister said that a plan to make students sit for seven subjects rather than nine, and then hold a complementary session afterwards has helped reduce students' fear and anxiety towards the test.
However, he stressed that this does not mean the test will become so easy that everyone passes, adding that universities have limited capacities.
Turning to Tawjihi violations, the minister said that a rumour concerning a leaked Arabic language test was untrue, adding that the 'leaked test' was fabricated.
The ministry is progressing 'steadily' towards digitising subjects and tests, according to the minister, who added that he expected this goal to be achieved in two to three years.
The ministry is also working on bringing in new books in order to develop curricula, he said, noting that as of the next academic year, new math and science books will be adopted for grades one through four.
Commenting on students arriving from abroad, Maani said that many Jordanians obtain their secondary certificates out of the country, noting that the by-law on high school certificates gives the ministry the right to check the legality of any school abroad in the way it sees fit, urging students to check with the ministry to make sure their school is recognised.
The ministry has approved 202 licences for new kindergartens, the minister said.
As for private sector education, the minister highlighted their importance in supporting the education system in Jordan, and said that the ministry recently endorsed a by-law on establishing and licensing private and foreign education institutions.
He added that the ministry had prohibited increases in tuition fees during the academic year, except in relation to addressing inflation. The ministry also implemented a system forcing private sector institutions to pay teachers their salaries through their bank accounts or e-wallets.
The government recently decided to increase support to Jordanian universities by JD18 million as of the next academic year, Maani said, noting that government support for universities now totals JD90 million a year.
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