Jordan Times
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Universities should serve as catalyst for promoting cultural process — Fayez
AMMAN (Petra) — Prime Minister Faisal Fayez on Tuesday said the government does not object to university students having their own political or ideological affiliations but it would not allow students to exploit the campus as an arena for tribal or partisan struggles.
At a meeting in his office yesterday with a group of excelling students from Balqa Applied University, the prime minister said universities should serve as a catalyst for promoting the cultural process and help raise awareness among the local communities on the challenges facing the Kingdom.
Urging students to form cultural clubs where they can meet and exchange views about the development of the education system, Fayez said he had instructed the Higher Youth Council to set up camps where students can hold panel discussions and seminars.
The premier said government has drawn up plans for a bank specialising in providing soft loans and grants to underprivileged students to be paid back with a sufficient grace period once the students start working after graduation. University President Omar Rimawi and Dean of the Students Affairs Department Ahmad Adwan also attended the meeting. Reiterating that the ongoing administrative reforms programme does not mean a retreat from the political process, Fayez said citizens would feel the economic dividends of reforms if the present economic growth rates continue for several years. Referring to health services, the prime minister said the government is seeking to cover all citizens under the national health insurance programme, starting with 300,000 underprivileged citizens and children under six years of age. Several students presented ideas and proposals concerning the development of the country's educational system and training courses that qualify graduates to find jobs in demand by the labour market.