Jordan Times
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Private sector
investment welcomed in special education schools
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN — Private sector investors are now being
actively encouraged by the Ministry of Education to set up schools for students
with special needs.
Restrictions on private sector involvement in special education were lifted in
2002, and information for potential investors is now being recirculated.
“The private sector has the financial and technical potential to parallel the
ministry in extending services to this segment,” Farid Khatib, director of
special education at the ministry, told The Jordan Times.
Private sector participation would be advantageous, he added, because of the
high cost of teaching students with special needs and providing equipment for
them.
The ministry, he said, has distributed instructions to education departments
across the Kingdom, detailing the conditions potential investors should meet.
He added that the measure was part of the ministry's efforts to take care of the
educational needs of all students in the Kingdom.
The infrastructure, equipment and educational tools in these schools should meet
the standards set for students with special needs, while the staff should hold
university degrees in special education or be specialists in related fields.
Tuition costs should be reasonable, he added.
Potential investors will be required to pay a JD25 registration fee as well as
JD10 annually for licence renewal.
According to Khatib, there are currently 13 public schools in the Kingdom
extending teaching and services to some 500 students with special needs. He
added that any student over six years of age with special needs has the right to
attend one of these schools, at no charge.