Al-Ma'aqbeh: "Student Affairs" at the University of Jordan is a space for dialogues and talented individuals
Amman5 min read
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Deanships of Student Affairs in universities are, in general, an environment where male and female students can breathe according to their various interests, and a platform for expressing all the ideas they hold.
At the University of Jordan, the Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Mohammad Al-Ma'aqbeh, says: "The university administration is working to transition the deanship from its traditional role in resolving student disputes to a spacious environment dominated by dialogues and debates on partisan and political work, on one hand, and unleashing the energies of talented students and developing their capabilities in the fields of culture, sports, art, painting, poetry, oratory, theater, music, and volunteer work, on the other."
Visions and ideas are swirling in Dean Al-Ma'aqbeh's mind to be added to these extracurricular activities, and they are currently being implemented, whether they are to be weekly or monthly.
During his interview with "Al-Rai," he added that the University of Jordan emphasizes, on the educational side, the necessity of arming its students with the skills required for the labor market after graduation, revealing matters related to his social life and educational journey within the framework of these themes:
- Upbringing and education?!
I grew up in a simple family and in a community environment with difficult circumstances, as I was born in a "tent," and my passion at Faqou' School/Karak was reading, perusing whatever newspaper pages were available, and listening to Jordanian radio and what was reported about the Lebanese and Iraqi wars in those years, so I acquired culture at an early age and excelled in the General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihi), ranking first in the district.
Although I was accepted into all local universities, university tuition fees stood as an obstacle at the beginning of my studies at the University of Jordan, so I joined the Iraqi University of Baghdad on a government scholarship to study law.
- Public work?
After finishing my university studies in Iraq, I was appointed to the Central Tenders Department at the University of Jordan, then the Consultation Center, and I obtained a master's degree from Amman Arab University and a doctorate from the University of Jordan, to be appointed as a faculty member in the Faculty of Law in 2017.
- Student Affairs Deanship activities?
Extracurricular activities are an absolute necessity in any university, and with 55,000 male and female students at the "Mother University," this places a great responsibility on the deanship towards activating cultural, artistic, political, and sports activities, volunteer work, and everything related to them in terms of holding meetings, forums, and organizing dialogues and debates, among others.
The importance of these works lies in revealing the students' capabilities and awareness, cross-pollinating their ideas, merging their creativity and talents, deepening brotherly relations among them, and working to occupy their leisure time, in light of the existence of modern communication platforms and their excessive and negative use.
- Partisan work at the university?
I see no harm in practicing this work when the student is aware, trained, and developed, so that partisan work serves the national interest and the ability of each party to persuade and influence, and to respect the opinion and the other opinion, and that intellectual disagreement is not a cause for disputes and conflicts like those that occur for regional or local reasons.
Here, it must be pointed out that the deanship's work in empowering students in partisan and political work is met with apathy from female students, despite them making up more than 60% of the number of male and female students, and this is due to the societal culture regarding women in general, and perhaps it may also be for reasons specific to them.
To activate the work and language of political dialogue, the deanship is determined, in coordination with the Student Union, to organize dialogues and debates in which representatives of the parties to which the students belong participate, and in accordance with procedures related to partisan understanding.
- The deanship's role in supporting needy students?
We have a fund to support students who face difficult financial circumstances related to their inability to pay full university fees, where it is in the form of comfortable installments during the years of study. The other aspect of support is providing housing on campus at nominal fees, where the housing is equipped with the required tools and services. We have also taken into account the financial conditions of female students' families in light of the difficult circumstances and the rise in housing rents, water, and electricity prices, so we kept the fees the same, without any increase.
- What about sports at the University of Jordan?
The Director of Sports Activity, Omar Obeidat, spoke on this aspect, saying:
At the university campus level, the Sports Activity Department has begun preparing a work calendar that included sports excellence tests, forming football teams for college students in preparation for the university league, welcoming new students, the cross-country race championship, and preparing for karate, taekwondo, athletics, and volleyball championships, as well as a championship for students coming from outside Jordan, in coordination with the Ministry of Higher Education.
As for participation in the Sports Federation of Jordanian Universities championship (headquartered at Middle East University), there are technical meetings for members and others for the Federation's Board of Directors, and based on them, the competitions and their dates for the current academic year are determined.
