Eight unlicensed private schools threatened with closure

AMMAN — Eight private schools are threatened with closure if they fail to obtain the proper licence from the Education Ministry in the next two week, an official said Wednesday.

Qasem Khateeb, director of the ministry’s private education department, said seven of the schools in question are in the capital, while one is in Irbid, some 80km north of Amman. 

The schools were given two weeks to prove their ability to provide “proper” education to students and receive an official licence from the ministry, according to the director.

Khateeb explained that the ministry decided to close down the schools because they did not abide by the requirement to obtain a licence before hiring employees and accepting applications from students.

“Around 2,300 students are currently enrolled in the unlicensed schools in Amman, while less than 100 students attend the school in Irbid,” Khateeb told The Jordan Times.

“If the schools are not licensed in the next two weeks, they will be closed permanently,” he added.

Students will continue to attend classes at these schools during the two-week period without changes to their schedules, according to Khateeb. 

“Many families withdrew their children after finding out that the schools were not officially recognised by the ministry,” he said.

The private education department has formed a committee to plan the transfer of already enrolled students to other schools if necessary, based on their area of residence, Khateeb noted.

He added that these schools only opened this academic year, which started two months ago, so it would be easy to transfer students to licensed schools and manage certificates.

Commenting on the ministry’s decision, the Private School Owners Association said the process of obtaining a private school licence is complicated, involving five different departments and lacking a specific mechanism.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the association said the process is often tied to the moods of officials, and — at times — takes four months.

The Ministry of Education closed two other schools in Amman earlier this year for health and safety reasons, Khateeb said.

There are around 550 private schools in Amman alone and almost the same number across the Kingdom, according to the official.