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AMMAN — A delegation from the White House on Wednesday night visited the New Zarqa Hospital and had a firsthand look at its facilities.

Hospital Director Bassam Shloul noted that the occupancy rate at the hospital is around 80 per cent and serves several governorates, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The hospital is scheduled to be an educational hospital to train medical students at the Hashemite University, Shloul told Petra.

MAFRAQ — US Second Lady Jill Biden on Thursday praised Jordan’s humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees.

Biden’s remarks came during a field visit to the Zaatari Refugee Camp, some 90km northeast of Amman, and an elementary school for girls in the eastern Mafraq Governorate where she met with refugees, officials and students and listened to their concerns.

During a visit to Al Fadeen Elementary School in Mafraq, in which a large number of refugee students are enrolled, she spoke with students and teachers about the challenges facing them in the overcrowded facility.

In a briefing to Biden, the school’s principal and teachers said the facility is now “overcrowded”, with the number of students having doubled following the Syrian refugee influx into Mafraq, which is close to the border with Syria.

The educators cited Jordanian students’ acceptance of their Syrian classmates as a major challenge, explaining that the cultural similarity between Jordanians and Syrians has helped alleviate Jordanian students’ anxiety.

Responding to a question by Biden, the principal said “traumatised” Syrian students have undergone psychological therapy programmes, supported by USAID and other international organisations, to help them “forget the nightmares they had back home”.

Biden also toured the school’s labs and library, and spoke to students and parents who all commended US support to their refugee-burdened governorate.

In Zaatari Refugee Camp, which is home to 79,648 Syrians according to UNHCR, the US second lady checked on educational and health facilities, and toured the shopping centre.

The UN World Food Programme in Jordan has launched an iris scan payment system allowing Syrian refugees living in camps to purchase food items from local shops using the scan of their eye instead of cash, vouchers or credit cards.

Upon seeing the payment system being used, Biden said, “I have been in many refugee camps around the world. It is the first time I see this.”

After attending classes with students at the educational UNICEF-funded “Makani” (My Space) centre, she met with parents and elderly women at the camp.

The women told Biden that in general they face no challenges at the facility but they “miss home; their sons and relatives”.

In response to a question from Biden about the message they want her to take back to the US, one of the women said: “We need your assistance and help to restore security to our country and get rid of the Assad regime.”

“I will deliver your message tonight,” Biden said.

“I would like to thank the Jordanian government for its humanitarian efforts to the refugees. We have to end the Syrian war so that Syrians can go back home,” she told reporters.

AMMAN — Showcasing the beauty of the desert and natural flowers, an exhibition of Ikebana opened on Wednesday to showcase different images of the desert through the Japanese art of flower arrangement. 

Ikebana entails using materials such as tree branches, leaves and blossoms. It is a “way to express love for nature”, according to one of the participants.  

The seventh annual exhibition, held at the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, showcases art pieces by Jordanian women interested in the art of Ikebana.

Thanaa Khatib, one of the participants, said her passion for the art grew with her.

“This exhibition combines the old and the modern; Japanese art and Jordanian culture are presented together,” she told The Jordan Times.

Khatib has been practising Ikebana for 28 years, during which she gained more knowledge of Japanese culture.

Another participant said she received five certificates from Japan and became a teacher of Ikebana.

“We arranged flowers in the theme of the Jordanian desert and the southern region of the country; I made a piece that represents the sea and another one that represents the desert,” she added.

HRH Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi, who attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition, said: “It goes without saying that the art pieces showcased in the exhibition are well done.”

“Flower exhibitions are the specialty of women… they spread beauty among people and introduce them to aspects of Japanese culture,” she told The Jordan Times. 

For her part, former MP Reem Badran said exhibitions reflect the civilisation and the culture of nations.

“The interest of people in a specific culture adds to their humanity... history is made through paintings and sculptures,” she told The Jordan Times.

Japanese Ambassador to Jordan Shuichi Sakurai told The Jordan Times Ikebana exhibitions enhance communication between the Jordanian and the Japanese peoples.

“This is a very good opportunity for a Jordanian to know the culture of Japan, so it is very [important] to have this kind of chance here,” he said.

“In the case of Japan, the Japanese culture is introduced from China and Korea, we developed their culture indigenously. Jordanians will also be developing our culture indigenously,” Sakurai added.

“This is a symbol of cooperation between the two countries… Japanese art schools in Jordan digest the Japanese culture very well. They present the mixture of [both cultures].” 

The ambassador continued that this year the theme adopted by the women is Wadi Rum and Aqaba, to “express Jordanian culture by Japanese tools”.

The exhibition continues through Saturday, according to the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Public Sector Development will conduct a study towards the end of this year to evaluate the impact of its programmes for empowering women in leadership positions in the public sector.

Speaking Thursday at the graduation ceremony of the first batch of the ministry's capacity building programme for this year, Public Sector Development Minister Khleef Al Khawaldeh highlighted the programme's aim to enhance women's capabilities to be "fit" for filling leadership and administrative positions in public agencies.

The five-week-long programme is aimed at equipping participants with skills in leadership and strategic planning, human resources management, building creative work groups, public sector work ethics and project management. 

The minister explained that the study will monitor the ratio of women's presence in senior positions in public agencies before and after implementing the cross-country programme. 

If no changes are recorded, the ministry might come up with a quota system to ensure women's representation in senior positions, Khawaldeh said.

Meanwhile, he noted that women's "outstanding performance and significant contributions" are the best indicators of their competence in such jobs, calling for capitalising on men's support for their female colleagues as well as women's support for each other. 

A total of 31 female public sector employees participated in the training programme, which was held in partnership with the USAID Takamol Gender Programme and the Jordanian National Commission for Women.

Last year, the ministry's programme trained 180 female participants, and it is expected to train a similar number this year, in addition to allocating one training programme for northern governorates and another for southern governorates.

In addition to the capacity-building project, the ministry will soon hold a forum that brings graduates together with women decision makers in the public sector to share success stories and to address challenges facing women.

Speaking on behalf of the graduates, Tahrir Qaq, an employee at the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission, cited a growing attention to supporting women in senior positions in the public sector, highlighting the need for all stakeholders to cooperate to sustain and enhance the empowerment of women.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Thursday offered his condolences to the family of First Lieutenant Samer Abu Zaid, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Abu Zaid died of the wounds he received after being shot by “dangerous” wanted suspects around three months ago.

AMMAN — Prime Minster Abdullah Ensour on Thursday met with Jordan Valley farmers and listened to problems facing them in the area.

Adnan Khadam, head of the Jordan Valley Farmers Union, and other union members briefed Ensour on marketing problems due to regional developments and border closures, which lowered the prices of the majority of agricultural products, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The premier reviewed government procedures with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to allow Jordanian agricultural produce to enter Iraq through Kuwait. Agriculture Minister Akef Zu’bi said the government halted the import of some products to protect national agricultural produce.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday expressed keenness to protect and enhance human rights in Jordan, highlighting the importance of cooperation between the government and other stakeholders towards that end.

Receiving the 2016-2025 Comprehensive National Plan on Human Rights from Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, the King stressed the significance of implementing the plan according to the set timeline, a Royal Court statement said. 

His Majesty pointed out that the plan and its objectives are  part of the national comprehensive reform process, urging those in charge of implementation to build on previous achievements in terms of citizen empowerment and safeguarding public rights and freedoms.

Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, King's Office Director Jafar Hassan, Interior Minister Salameh Hammad and Justice Minister Bassam Talhouni attended the meeting.

After the meeting, Talhouni — who is also head of the higher committee entrusted with preparing the plan — told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that the plan is a comprehensive strategy that addresses the main aspects related to human rights. 

The plan covers civil, political, economic and cultural rights in addition to the rights of the vulnerable such as the elderly, children and women, the minister added.

The fundamental aspects of the project are based on the Jordanian Constitution and international covenants the Kingdom has entered regarding human rights, as well as remarks presented by the National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR), Talhouni told Petra.

The plan has primary and secondary goals whose achievement will be measured through a set of activities and indicators, he said, adding that the committee will be reviewing the strategy on a regular basis.

The government — which drafted the plan in cooperation with the NCHR, civil society institutions and professional associations — will implement it through its concerned departments and civil society institutions, Talhouni told Petra.

He also underlined the appointment of 98 liaison officers in relevant institutions and public departments, in addition to establishing a specialised unit run by a government general coordinator, which is tasked, along with the Justice Ministry, with overseeing the plan’s implementation.

AMMAN — Amidst efforts to fight radical ideology in Jordan and elsewhere, Islamic scholars said there is a need to overhaul the preaching process at mosques in order to adopt a "knowledge-based" approach.

In separate phone interviews with The Jordan Times, field experts agreed on the significance of mosques as platforms to promote the teachings of moderate Islam and to refute extremist ideology that some groups preach in the name of Islam.

Awqaf Ministry’s Secretary General Abdul Munem Hiyari said the ministry engages imams and preachers in a training programme that seeks to emphasise moderate thought and to confront extremist ideology and highlight its hazards.

Hiyari noted that the programme takes place in all governorates and has also included some 150 female religious preachers as well.

The official noted that the ministry also directs preachers to allocate a single Friday sermon each month to educate the public on extremism and its adverse effects from the viewpoint of true Islam.    

Meanwhile, Mohammad Nouh Qudah, a former youth and awqaf minister and a celebrated moderate Islamic figure, said that the three major players in thought-formation: media, education and mosques, work in isolation from each other, a matter that prevents the three from achieving their goals.

He said the performance of national and international media outlets leaves a lot to be desired; therefore mosque preachers feel compelled to make up for what is missing.

Furthermore, the national education system lacks a well-studied religious studies curriculum, which is “spread thin” as it covers a large number of topics. “This is where preachers feel they need to fill a gap”, Qudah said.

However, he raised a central question regarding the competence of preachers as “thought leaders”, explaining that some of them have not finished their high school education. 

Another issue is the shortage in the number of preachers in light of low turnout of Sharia graduates to work as preachers.  

In order to provide preachers with correct information, Qudah suggested that the ministry holds meetings for its consultants and scholars with mosque preachers, where the former explain extremist thoughts and actions to the latter and clarify solutions that preachers can discuss in their sermons.  

Marwan Faouri, the secretary general of the International Forum for Moderation, said on Friday sermons should only be held in “major mosques” and delivered by competent preachers and specialised university professors.

Although the idea of major mosques is applied in some governorates, it may not be practical to copy in the capital or other major cities, as the number of Friday’s prayer-goers is “very high”, according to Hiyari. 

The “general discourse” addressing extremism is not enough, as preachers should deconstruct the extremist ideology in order to appeal to the younger generation, a crucial segment in the society when handling anti-radicalism, said Faouri, a former leader of the Islamic Centrist Party.

Meanwhile, he said the government’s methods for dealing with “off track” preachers should be based on dialogue that aims to correct their understanding of religion, rather than in detaining them and making them “popular heroes”.

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Wednesday participated in the fifth joint ministerial meeting for foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Jordan and Morocco, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

During the meeting, Judeh stressed His Majesty King Abdullah's interest to enhance strategic cooperation with the GCC member states and thanked, on behalf of the Kingdom, leaders of the GCC for approving a 2011 grant of $5 billion that has helped fund economic and development projects over the past five years.

Judeh added the fund also helped the Kingdom face many economic challenges and stressed the importance of resuming coordination to support the partnership between Jordan and the GCC.

The minister discussed the conditions in the region, including the Palestinian cause and the importance of a two-state solution, combating terrorist groups — mainly Daesh — and the Syrian refugee crisis, reiterating the Kingdom’s position calling for peaceful solutions to conflicts and the need for orchestrated global efforts to combat terrorism.

In Cairo, arriving from Riyadh, Judeh met with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayraul and discussed the Syrian conflict and ways to re-launch the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations.

During the meeting, Judeh stressed Jordan’s support to all efforts seeking to establish an independent Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution.

For his part, Ayraul presented a briefing on his country’s vision to re-launch serious peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.

The two sides also discussed efforts exerted to push for a political solution to the Syrian crisis on the basis of the international relevant resolutions and the Geneva Communiqué 1.

Also in Cairo, Judeh discussed with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri common challenges facing the region and the latest developments in Syria, Yemen, Libya as well as anti-terror cooperation.

AMMAN — The by-law on the establishment and licensing of private education institutions continues to be a point of dispute between the Education Ministry and the Private School Owners Association. 

The by-law, which was approved by the Cabinet last December, includes provisions related to the physical environment at schools, the number of students and school yards.

Under the regulations, which went into effect this year, private schools are required to address any violation related to their buildings, including the need to vacate premises that are deemed residential and the need to have indoor yards.

Moreover, schools should calculate the number of students they are allowed to accept based on their area in square metres, making sure that each student has a one-square-metre area in the classroom and two square metres in the yard.

"First, the by-law was issued without our consultation as partners in the education process, and now they want to apply it retroactively. This would result in closing down 75 per cent of private schools and kindergartens across the Kingdom and letting go of more than 100,000 students and 12,000 teachers and other staff," the association's president, Munther Sourani, told The Jordan Times on Wednesday. 

He noted that authorities have allowed schools to operate for a long time without having indoor yards or forcing them to limit the number of students according to their size, noting that there are currently 600,000 private school students in Jordan. 

However, the Education Ministry announced its "shock" over the association's stance towards the by-law, saying that it will not be applied retroactively on schools licensed according to the old regulations. 

"Contrary to what the Private School Owners Association claims, private schools that do not violate the old regulations will not be in trouble," said the ministry in a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

The statement also added that the ministry has granted private education institutions two years to rectify their status, particularly when it comes to the physical environment and their capacity. 

"The old regulations ban schools from receiving more students than their capacity," said the ministry. 

Sourani charged that the ministry's private education department has stopped granting licences to schools since June last year, which resulted in having 250 private educational institutions, including kindergartens, without licences. 

But the ministry disputed such claims, saying that it approved the licensing of 45 privately run education institutions.

The ministry also highlighted violations detected by its field inspectors, with the main breaches being related to the number of students and classrooms, teaching international curricula without official approval, teaching materials that are not approved by the education council and having schools in industrial, residential and trade areas that lack safety requirements. 

The ministry accused Sourani of owning one of the violating private schools, while the association leader dismissed these claims.

"They are manipulating facts ...Their argument is weak," he charged. 

The ministry reiterated its calls on parents to make sure that the private schools they are sending their children to have been granted all the required licences by checking with its private education department.