Ministry of Higher Education for Science – Jordan

Interest in higher education in terms of supervision began when the Higher Education Law was issued in 1980, and then the Higher Education Council was established in 1982 to supervise Jordanian higher education institutions. In 1985, the Ministry of Higher Education was established, and Higher Education Law No. (28) of 1985 was issued, which defined the objectives of higher education and also defined the powers and responsibilities of the Higher Education Council and the Ministry of Higher Education, and their relationship with higher education institutions. Thirteen years after the establishment of the Ministry, Higher Education Law No. (6) of 1998 was issued, pursuant to which the Ministry of Higher Education was abolished and replaced by the Higher Education Council, and all Jordanian community colleges were affiliated with Al-Balqa Applied University.

After His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein assumed his constitutional powers, a Royal Commission letter dated 21/8/2001 stated the re-establishment of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to oversee and monitor public and private higher education institutions and to raise the level of higher education to keep pace with and be in harmony with the developments witnessed by the higher education sector worldwide and the needs and aspirations of human society and the environment in general.

Three basic laws regulating the work of this ministry were issued in 2001 and then amended in 2003/2004. They are:

Temporary Higher Education and Scientific Research Law No. 41 of 2001 and its amendments.
Jordanian Public Universities Temporary Law No. 42 of 2001 and its amendments.
Temporary Jordanian Private Universities Law No. 43 of 2001 and its amendments.
The Ministry has continued to develop and update the legislation, laws, regulations, and instructions that regulate and govern the higher education sector to meet the requirements of the times first, and to be in line with the Ministry’s various strategic plans that include objectives that must be achieved in the short and long term, in addition to achieving the Ministry’s mission based on empowering and supporting higher education institutions to carry out their primary duties and responsibilities. The following have been issued:

Higher Education and Scientific Research Law No. (17) of 2018.
Jordanian Universities Law No. (18) of 2018.
The Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research oversees the higher education sector in Jordan through the Higher Education Council, which sets general policy for the higher education sector, the Higher Education Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission, and the Ministry’s technical and administrative team, comprised of several directorates and units, which support the work and work to raise the level of higher education in Jordan through specialized scientific committees that review all certificates issued by non-Jordanian higher education institutions, recognize and equate them, and certify all issued documents.

Based on the directives of the patron of the march, His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, may God protect him and preserve him, to support science and education and raise the efficiency and level of Jordanian youth to meet the requirements of the era and the labor market, the Ministry, with its partners in the public and private sectors, and through scholarships and loans, supports the segment of distinguished students in Jordanian public universities and creates an integrated model of partnership between the two sectors, as the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research views the scholarships, grants and loans that it provides annually through the Student Support Fund for students studying in Jordanian public universities within the regular program as an investment in the future of youth by enabling them to complete their university studies, not to mention the economic and social impact of these scholarships, grants and loans, as more than (40) forty thousand male and female students benefit from them annually, which contributes to alleviating the economic burden on more than (40) forty thousand Jordanian families, represented by university fees for their children in light of the difficult economic conditions that the majority of families suffer from. The Ministry has been keen to increase the number of students benefiting from these scholarships, grants and loans, as the number of students has reached The beneficiaries since the establishment of the Fund until the end of the year (2017) are approximately (322,000) three hundred and twenty-two thousand male and female students, and the value of the financial support provided to these students amounted to approximately (250,000,000) two hundred and fifty million Jordanian dinars.