The President of the University of Jordan lectures at the National Defense College

9/18/2022

On Sunday The President of the University of Jordan, Dr. Nazir Obeidat, delivered a lecture at the Royal Jordanian National Defense College entitled "The University Environment and its Role in Promoting Political Reforms" for scholars in the twentieth defense course at the college. Obeidat said: "The main goal of any political change that seeks to enhance national strength and performance, as the concepts of power are formed as sources, resources, capacity and results, which is beneficial for assessing the reality and future of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan." Obeidat indicated that the role of universities is to build nations; Universities are key institutions in the processes of social and political change and development, and their responsibility lies in producing a highly skilled workforce and high-level research outputs, to achieve the expected goals that drive political, economic and social change. Obeidat gave a description of the next stage, as universities begin to form a framework for partisan action , saying that universities should be the prominent political face of our country, noting that this is not new to them, as it was previously demonstrated in different periods of our country's history; Throughout their life, universities have continued to engage in undeclared partisan activities, which have prevented the absence of partisan action from the area. In this regard, Obeidat outlined the requirements of the next stage at the political level, stressing His Majesty's support for the existence of a lofty royal will in the need to achieve political transformation from its widest doors, pointing to the need to strengthen that royal will with the necessary legislation, through the enactment of the Parties Law and the Local Administration Law. He also referred to the urgent need to create a state of awareness among university cadres, including faculty, administrative cadres and scholars, that political action in universities should not affect the principle of complete neutrality pursued by universities as institutions that enjoy special governance, laws, regulations, and instructions, and stand at the same distance from political currents competing. With regard to accelerating the process of universities’ adaptation to these political reforms, Obeidat touched upon the necessity of involving scholars in decision-making in a rational, rational and scientific manner, and to include them in the decision-making process and political participation, so that a committee of committees formed to set regulations and instructions at the university is not free from private participation.