Regulations endorsed for establishment of private medical universities

AMMAN — The Higher Education Council (HEC) has recently endorsed a set of regulations for the establishment of private medical universities, according to Higher Education Minister Adel Tweisi.

These regulations introduce conditions for the initial licensing of private medical universities in Jordan, he said on Saturday, explaining that there are currently four public universities offering medical programmes. 

Many of the 20 private universities in the country offer health-related programmes, including pharmacy, nursing and physiotherapy, in addition to programmes in supportive disciplines, but they do not offer medicine or dentistry programmes.

Investors willing to establish a private medical university will have to establish a hospital for the training of medical students and clinics for dentistry students, he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

In addition, the university must provide scholarships for instructors and build partnerships with at least two internationally recognised medical universities in order to encourage cooperation, the minister added.

At least 60 per cent of students must be non-Jordanians, in a bid to increase the number of foreign students from nearly 40,000 to 70,000 by 2020, according to a plan approved by the Cabinet, he noted.

It is also an opportunity to help some 4,000 Jordanians currently studying medicine and dentistry abroad to pursue their education at home and reduce foreign-currency remittances.

The financial capabilities of the private sector will help advance the medical infrastructure in Jordan and consequently reduce the “brain drain” of medical experts, Tweisi said. 

These universities will also have to meet licensing requirements for private universities, he noted, underlining that the HEC will be “very serious” in implementing these regulations so that private medical universities can be “good models”.

Before admitting students, any higher education institution has to receive the HEC’s initial and final licences, as well as the Higher Education Accreditation Commission’s institutional (general) and programme (specific) accreditation.