AMMAN —University of Jordan (UJ) President Ekhleif Tarawneh on Tuesday said that 65 per cent of the 39,000 students at the university are females.

Tarawneh made the remarks during a meeting with a group of top female achievers in the General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihi) examination at Rabaa Adawiah School in Ashrafieh, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

“Jordanian women have proved their ability to compete and excel and innovate,” he said.

Tarawneh explained that the university admission procedures were designed to meet the needs of international, regional and domestic markets for qualified human resources.

He said that there was no plan at the moment to increase tuition fees, despite the constant increase in costs, as the university needs additional infrastructure to respond to the developments in education.

Tarawneh urged the students to participate in activities organised by UJ’s student union to increase the awareness of prospective students and introduce them to academic courses and programmes available at Jordanian universities.

In previous remarks to The Jordan Times, Tarawneh said students from 63 countries were enrolled at UJ.

The university’s budget for 2013 stands at JD110 million, according to the president, compared to JD51,000 when UJ was established in 1962 with one arts faculty in two buildings, 20-25 students, three full time teaching staff, and five part-time educators.

SOURCE: THE JORDAN TIMES