Queen Rania Meets with the Royal Consultative Committee

(Jordan Times - Amman) Her Majesty Queen Rania on Sunday underlined the importance of the mission of the Royal Consultative Committee on general education in drawing up education programmes and curricula to reflect the Kingdom’s educational process and its output.

During a meeting with committee members yesterday, the Queen reiterated that the private sector, civil society institutions and students’ families need to cooperate with the Ministry of Education to support its various projects and programmes.

His Majesty King Abdullah entrusted Queen Rania with overseeing and following up on the committee’s work and resulting recommendations.

During yesterday’s meeting, Queen Rania also focused on the role of teachers and the importance of their continued training.

She also emphasised the need to improve teachers’ conditions, highlighting the role educators play in fostering the sense of citizenship among students by enhancing their knowledge about the country and its civilisation and acquainting them with their duties and rights.

Marwan Kamal, the committee’s president, briefed the members on the panel’s work mechanisms, including the formation of four subcommittees on teachers, curriculum, school environment and governing policies.

The formation of the subcommittees followed field visits to several government schools and getting acquainted with education experiences in different developed countries.

The committee also presented the government with three initiatives on enhancing the effectiveness of teachers, school administration and the education environment.

In November 2007, King Abdullah issued instructions for the formation of the Royal consultative committee to provide entities overseeing the educational process in the Kingdom with ideas, plans and suggestions to serve as guidelines for developing domestic education strategies.

At the time, the Monarch said the plans and suggestions to be presented by the committee should focus on enhancing intellectual development among students and teachers by upgrading and Computerising Curricula, enhancing teaching methods, ensuring equal educational opportunities and high-quality education, as well as encouraging a culture of creativity and excellence among students.

The King entrusted Philadelphia University President Marwan Kamal with presiding over the committee, which comprises several experts and specialists in the field of education.

Last December, chairing part of the committee’s first meeting at the Royal Court, where Her Majesty Queen Rania was also present, the King urged panel members to come up with practical ideas for the development of education programmes and curricula in a manner that bolsters creativity and excellence.

At the meeting, His Majesty underlined the significance of the committee’s task and urged its members to move ahead with their mission.

He reiterated that developing education is one of the foremost priorities for the country and a main pillar in national development plans.

Expressing his full support for the panel, the Monarch emphasised that the challenges and the problems facing the education sector require firm decision-making responsibilities.