Jordan Times
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Concept of higher
education needs to be redefined — Queen
AMMAN (JT) — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Wednesday said the concept of higher
education needs to be redefined to include academic, developmental and social
aspects.
The Queen, who is Associate President of the Arab Open University's (AOU) Board
of Trustees, made the remarks at the board's fifth annual meeting in Cairo,
chaired by Saudi Prince Talal Ben Abdul Aziz, president of the Arab Gulf
Programme for United Nations Development Organisations (AGFUND).
The board members discussed accreditation policies applied by higher education
ministries in the Arab world.
The Queen said such criteria should be revisited to ensure they enhance the
quality of the programmes offered by universities, adding that the accreditation
conditions should not be perceived as hurdles.
The graduation of the first batch of the university is very important in leaving
a good impression about the level of the institution's performance, which is
naturally reflected on the quality of graduates, she added.
Prince Talal thanked the Queen for her support of the AOU and development
projects such as AGFUND, which officially opened the Jordan-based National
Microfinance Bank (NMB) to offer microcredit to the poor earlier this week.
The AOU board of trustees, comprising Arab ministers and key academicians,
discussed last year's report which includes a plan to prepare the university for
accreditation by the Open University Validation Service of the United Kingdom.
The AOU signed an agreement for cooperation and affiliation with the UK Open
University (UKOU). This agreement, according to the AOU website, includes three
major areas: Licensing of materials, consultancies, accreditation and
validation. The agreement will also provide students with the chance to obtain a
joint certificate from both universities.
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research granted the Jordan
branch institutional accreditation and programme validation for the three
programmes taught under licence by the UKOU.
The AOU Jordan branch graduated its first batch on Aug. 13 last year. Some 400
students received bachelors degrees in education and higher diploma
certificates.
The university has branches in several Arab countries with Kuwait as its
headquarters. Its aim is to turn out graduates who are capable of embracing the
latest technology and working in a globalised economy.