Amman, January 12 – The Senate’s Education and Teaching Committee, chaired by Senator Dr. Wajih Owais, met today, Sunday, with the Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Azmi Mahafzah.
Senator Owais stated that the meeting was held to discuss topics related to the new General Secondary Education Examination (Tawjihi), the vocational and technical education track "BTEC," and the importance of merging the Ministries of Education and Higher Education and Scientific Research.
He emphasized the importance of focusing on educational reform and human resource development, highlighting the committee's commitment to discussing the current state of the education sector, addressing its key challenges, and following up on the implementation of plans and strategies related to education at all levels.
For his part, Minister Mahafzah spoke about the new General Secondary Education Examination, explaining that 11th-grade students will study all subjects included in the curriculum plan.
He pointed out that passing all school-level subjects is a prerequisite for sitting for the first part of the national General Secondary Education Examination, which will focus on common general culture subjects.
Minister Mahafzah elaborated that students will take the national exam in four shared cultural subjects: Islamic Education, Arabic Language, English Language, and Jordanian History, which they will complete in 11th grade.
He further explained that in 12th grade, students will study the Digital Skills subject in addition to six specialized subjects of their choice. After successfully passing these subjects at the school level, they can take the second part of the national exam in four subjects, selected based on their desired university specialization.
The minister also noted that students would be divided into two tracks starting from the 10th grade: the academic and vocational-technical tracks. He explained that the vocational-technical track, "BTEC," implemented in partnership with Pearson, offers technical and vocational specializations aligned with labor market needs.
He highlighted that the merger of the Ministries of Education and Higher Education and Scientific Research under the name Ministry of Education and Human Resources is part of the Public Sector Development Plan.
He pointed out that the ministry will oversee education at all stages, including foundational education, general education, vocational education and training, and higher education, ensuring alignment and integration of inputs and outputs across these stages.