Jordanian students' protests force university to lower fees
Jordanian students' protests force university to lower fees
Jordanian students staging a sit-in protest celebrate victory as university officials concede and agree to reduce tuition fees.
2 min read
Students called on the university to reverse the decision to raise tuition fees [Getty]
Celebrations broke out among Jordanian students after officials from the University of Jordan on Friday announced a reduction of tuition fees in face of continued protests.
The decision to reduce tuition fees came after the university's Board of Trustees and the chairman of the Jordanian parliament's education committee, Mohammed al-Haj, agreed that the university would receive a fund of up to 4 million Jordanian Dinars [$5.6 million] from the government.
Student protests have been ongoing for nearly three years - since university officials first announced a major rise in fees of up to 210 percent for post-graduate, international and parallel programmes held at the university.
Frustration at the lack of any official response led student activists to transform their vocal protests into physical sit-ins at the university's campuses 19 days ago.
The agreement will be signed by the university's Board of Trustees at its next meeting on Monday, Sami Mashhour, head of the students' union, told The New Arab.
According to the negotiation teams, the proposed fees will be reduced by 50 percent.
"The agreement will include a clear timeframe, to commence reductions in fees with the start of the next semester," Mashhour told The New Arab.
"Most importantly, students have demanded that the agreement includes recognising the sit-in protests as legitimate," Mashhour added. "So that students who participated in them are not persecuted."
"We did not expect the issue of the raised fees to become one of public concern," said Mason Imad, a member of the Jordanian student assembly.
"The outcome is a win for all students, as it shows that their will can bring about change," Imad told The New Arab.
"It shows students are part of the decision-making process and that the university should not take any decisions against the wishes of the students."
Jordanian student Moataz Mohammed told The New Arab he had been working on the campaign for a year and a half.
"We did not think the university would accept our demands," Mohammed said. "But as the campaign intensified, the university had no other option. Things happened quickly and it shows that students are able to bring about change."
Meanwhile, videos were shared on social media of the reaction of students when the agreement was announced.
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