(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Following a Cabinet decision made on Saturday, all Jordanians who have been studying medicine in Yemen and Libya will be accepted into degree programmes at local universities.
According to a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, yesterday, the Council of Ministers decided to allow the 457 Jordanians who completed their first, second and third years of coursework in medicine or dentistry in Yemen and Libya to enter evening programmes at local universities.
In addition, during a meeting yesterday headed by Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, the Council of Ministers decided that around 300 medical and dental students who completed their fourth, fifth and sixth years would be accepted in regular degree programmes at local universities, with their coursework abroad accredited according to the criteria set by each local university, Petra reported.
The Cabinet also stressed the importance of coordination between the Higher Education Council (HEC) and the universities to which the students will be admitted to determine the criteria for transferring credits, Petra said.
The Council of Ministers left it to the HEC to decide the requirements for admitting students of other majors who returned from Yemen and Libya due to the ongoing violence in the two Arab states, according to Petra.
Four public universities in the country teach medicine: the University of Jordan, the Jordan University of Science and Technology, Mutah University and the Hashemite University.
The medical students who left Yemen and Libya sat for specialised admission tests last Tuesday prepared by the HEC in cooperation with the concerned medical faculties.
Following the exams, several students staged sit-ins in front of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, charging that the tests were difficult and "meant to make them fail".
As per the Cabinet's decision yesterday, the results of these tests will be disregarded.
