Education Ministry delay halts Israeli Arabs from studying in Jordan

Tamir purportedly apologized for the delay and promised to handle the situation personally.

By ABE SELIG
Yuli Tamir 88 224 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Yuli Tamir 88 224
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Citing a delay resulting from last year's teacher's strike, the Education Ministry came under harsh criticism this week for failing to issue the required matriculation certificates for dozens of Israeli-Arab students hoping to begin their university studies in Jordan. Even though many of the students were already admitted to various Jordanian institutions on the condition that their matriculation exams would arrive by a certain date, the Education Ministry's failure to register the students on time has meant their transcripts were still not ready by the beginning of the semester. When the problem first arose in mid-October, MK Ahmed Tibi (UAL) approached Education Minister Yuli Tamir over the matter and tried to get her to intervene. Tamir purportedly apologized for the delay and promised to handle the situation personally. Tibi also spoke to the Jordanian authorities, who then agreed to defer the deadline for handing in the certificates to October 24. But when the certificates had still not been delivered by that date, the Jordanian universities informed the Israeli students they were suspending their studies until further notice. Leading the criticism against the ministry, Tibi called the situation a "shameful failure" when he brought the issue before the Knesset on Sunday, and compared the ministry's conduct to that of a "Third-World country." "The enlightened State of Israel, which seeks to become a member of the European Union, can't even issue a matriculation certificate on time?" Tibi slammed. "This is a shameful failure for which the students are regretfully made to pay too dear a price." In a response, the ministry said they were currently handling a large amount of requests for certificates and that the delay was rooted in last year's teachers' strike, which pushed back some of the exams to the fall. The ministry did promise to resolve the issue quickly, but students who were affected by the delay said it was too little too late. "At this pace, I don't think any of this is going to work out," said Marwan Amsha, of his brother Abnan, who is trying to earn a degree in veterinary medicine in Jordan. "[The Education Ministry] keeps saying, we'll figure it out, we'll take care of it on time, but in the end, they simply don't, and the students are made to suffer," Amsha said. Marwan, who spoke on behalf of his brother, said Abnan had nonetheless gone back to Jordan to try and continue his studies, hoping that when he came back to Israel, he could transfer his final credits back to the Israeli system. "Hopefully, that will be the right answer," Marwan said. "But we're scared. It's not just my brother. There are dozens of other students with the same problem who have just given up."