Parents and high school students for the current year urged the Higher Education Council to keep the number of admissions to medicine and dentistry programs as the same level of last year. Speaking to the Jordan News Agency (Petra), they called on the Higher Education Council to revoke the reduction in the number of admissions to medicine programs from 2,200 last year to 640 this year, a reduction of 70 per cent. The Higher Education Council began implementing a gradual time frame to reduce the number of students accepted into medical disciplines (medicine, dentistry, doctor of pharmacy, and pharmacy) in public universities, starting from the 2022-2023 academic year, in order to reach the maximum permissible limit for the number of accepted students according to the absorptive capacity dedicated to each discipline. However, this year the Higher Education Council took a decision to reduce the number of accepted students in medical specialties by 70 per cent, according to which the number of students accepted for the academic current year shall not exceed 640 male and female students if the Council continues with its decision. “The council’s decision has rationales and justifications, but the gradual reduction is most appropriate choice to preserve the right of top achievers to enroll in medical disciplines and prevent their emigration to seek study abroad”, Former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Wajih Owais said. “In 2020, the decision was taken to begin gradually reducing the numbers, but as a result of pressure last year, approximately 10,000 male and female students were accepted into public universities, and these numbers, in addition to the existing students, constitute a clear violation of the capacity, as approved by the Higher Education Accreditation Commission and the Higher Education Council,” Former President of the University of Jordan, Khleif Tarawneh commented. Former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Walid Maani, said that the medical field is viewed from two aspects. The first aspect is the large numbers of students in medical disciplines, as classrooms in the past used to include a maximum of 5 students , but classrooms now house large numbers of students, which would have a negative impact on the level of teaching and achievement among students. The second aspect is the increase in unemployed rate medicine degrees holders, as the labor market is no longer able to absorb large numbers of graduates.
Source: Jordan News Agency