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Activists, deputies call for change in Private Universities Law

AMMAN - Student activists and lawmakers have criticised the Private Universities Law for not allowing the government to intervene with rising private university fees.

At a meeting held Sunday at the Democratic Popular Unity Party headquarters, National Campaign for Defending Students' Rights (Thabahtoona) coordinator Fakher Daas condemned the actions of private university owners, describing them as "capitalists who exploit education for financial purposes".

"It is the state's duty to protect students studying at private universities, which are currently being controlled by capitalism," Daas said.

Private university students, including those at Philadelphia and Petra universities, have been protesting since July against rising university fees, staging campus sit-ins and signing petitions, all supported by Thabahtoona.

Activists urged the government to curb increases in tuition, services and transportation fees at private universities, which have ranged from 100 per cent to 150 per cent, according to Thabahtoona.

"I did not find any text in the Private Universities Law that gives the state the right to prevent private university owners from increasing fees," Daas said.

Article 17 of the Private Universities Law states: "A private university has its own budget set by the university's president, approved by the commission [board of directors] and the board of trustees and sent to the Higher Education Council (HEC) for approval."

The HEC, however, is unable to decline a university's budget, Daas told The Jordan Times, adding that according to the article, the HEC "only ensures that the budget is mathematically correct".

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research spokesperson Mahmoud Khalaileh agreed with Daas' assessment of the law.

"The HEC can neither prevent private, nor public universities from increasing fees," Khalaileh told The Jordan Times on Monday, adding that the ministry cannot interfere in private universities' affairs as they are "financially and administratively independent institutions" under the current law.

MP Ali Dalaeen (Karak, 5th District), who attended Sunday's gathering, said he will work towards introducing a new law which sets a "maximum limit" for university fees in Jordan.

"A student's fees should remain as they were when he first enrolled in the university and be fixed until he graduates," Dalaeen said, adding that he and other MPs will call on the Higher Education Ministry and private university administrators to "shoulder their responsibilities in this regard".

Participants in Sunday's meeting, who represented different associations, parties and student movements, demanded the return to the universities' "educational" priority rather than "capitalist business interests".

Launched in March 2007 to "defend students rights", Thabahtoona is supported by a wide spectrum of Jordanian parties and figures including the Islamic Action Front and the Jordanian Communist Party.

By Thameen Kheetan

© Jordan Times 2008