No place for wasta in education system — Thneibat

AMMAN — Education in the Kingdom should be based on skills and abilities, and not “wasta” (favouritism) and tribal prominence, Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat said Wednesday. 

At a meeting with students at the University of Jordan (UJ), Thneibat discussed the status of education in the country. 

“The education system in Jordan and the neighbouring countries is deteriorating, this decline in education levels is not acceptable,” he said.

Citing official figures, Thneibat noted that 45 per cent of General Secondary Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) students choose the information technology stream over the scientific field, which, according to him, is a problem for Jordan in terms of the lack of diversity in university graduates over the last few years.

“All of our issues in Jordan need long-term solutions, we need a wide-awake conscience to resolve the problems we face.”

Thneibat added that the Jordanian educational system needs values, equality, fairness and objectivity to improve the learning process.

“We need awareness in the community as a whole to assist the education reform process in Jordan.” 

He said the education system is “starting to get back on track”.

“We had 32,000 attempts to hack the ministry’s website two days before the Tawjihi results were out, but none of them was successful, and 42,000 students got their marks the minute they were released.”

The minister stressed the need to raise students’ awareness and awaken their conscience to avoid carrying out actions that would harm the entire society.

Discussions also covered violence at schools and universities. 

“Whoever assaults a teacher or a professor on campus should be referred to court and face the consequences of his/her actions.”

“The education system started going in the wrong direction when teachers turned into employees  instead of ambassadors with a message to the new generation,” Thneibat told the UJ students.

“Teaching has become just another job rather than a calling, although teachers follow in the footsteps of God’s messengers.”

“Our conscience should [push us] to serve the community and appreciate educated people in society by employing them according to the degrees they hold and not the tribe they belong to.”