(MENAFN- Alghad Newspaper)
With the Higher Council of the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) appointed, the journey begins.
The primary mission of the Centre and its Council is to drive and oversee the reform and development of school curriculum, and address its deformities.
Aside to the obvious, the formation of the Council entails subtler and equally messages to be explored and voiced hereon.
First, there is the fact that a former Prime Minister has been appointed Chairman of the council, which —if anything— shows how important the issue of education is to the top decision makers. Especially since the premier is considered an expert on the matter, with at least a thing or two to say about the needed reforms.
Furthermore, the Council includes a number of prominent specialists, renowned for their expertise and theoretical, as well as practical, knowledge in education. This is reassuring to all those who doubt the purpose and sincerity of these reforms!
More so, the presence of members of the Teachers Associations on the Council's formation is an important, outspoken expression of the integral partnership to be built with the Association. This is important to make sure the teachers' role in developing our school curriculums is a constructive one, to dilute resistance.
Likewise, the inclusion of the Ministry of Islamic Affair's Mufti on the Council, in accordance to Article 6 of the Centre's code, means that the institution is present in this crucial process and its outcomes.
The presence of the religious institution is an outright rebuttal of all the alleged claims that the purpose of these curricular reforms is to marginalise or altogether take out religion in school books.
Equally important is the inclusion of the ministries of Education and Higher Education, in order to integrate the two systems; public schools and higher education.
This should smoothen out the implementation of needed reforms within the public schooling system, leading to higher consistency and better output quality, reflective also on higher education.
Notably, this should enhance the quality of the education system as a whole.
This formation is appealing to everybody, especially those directly involved in all levels of the education process, including society and families.
The Royal Decree gave the Council three years to get the job done; to kick start the journey of a thousand mile, with the future of a whole generation on the line!
What we need to do is set the wheels of this task in motion; take the first step. No more procrastination on the account of our future and the futures of our young generations.
We need to get a move on now, while we can, knowing, admittedly, that the longer we wait the higher the price we pay, and we've paid a lot.
The issuance of the Royal Decree to appoint the members and chairman of the Council is the first of many steps entailed in the King's 7th Discussion Paper on reforming education.
The purpose of these reforms is to arm our generations with the knowledge and science which would enhance their competitiveness and brighten their future.
Holistically speaking, these reforms aim to restore the exemplary quality and prestige of education in Jordan; after once we had a modular education system, now barely a pitiful one.
The Council has a difficult task on their hands. They are charged with outlining a long term strategy to direct and navigate clear, practical, constructive education reforms.
Needless to say, education is a national priority.
Jordanians citizens are the main stakeholders in this venture, which is why all need to come together and push these reforms through, instead of wasting time in fruitless debate!
This article is an edited translation of the Arabic version, published by AlGhad.
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