Universities Governance and Future Bit
By: Prof. Dr. Younes Megdadi
Many interested and followers of the academic affairs wonder about the extent to which Jordanian universities are committed to applying the principles of governance as institutions governed by laws, regulations and instructions aimed at institutionalizing academic, administrative and financial work within a curriculum governed by a number of foundations and rules governing the management of universities such as transparency, disclosure, rationalization of decisions, etc., all of which depend on thought, awareness and aspirations of governance Universities in order to translate them into words and deeds to direct their compass within strategic paths that serve their interests in light of their vision, mission and educational goals.
Observers hear that there are tensions in the governing councils of universities with regard to the level of commitment to applying the principles of governance, which has become widely discussed in the academic community, especially in the absence of institutional disclosure of the performance of universities as one of the important indicators of the extent of their commitment to the principles of governance, which many see as the true address and evidence of The quality and efficiency of those councils in managing university files.
In recent years, we have witnessed a bold step by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to assess the performance of university presidents only as one of the governing parties without including other governing councils, which many see as the most important as the actual kitchen in decision-making and concerned with drawing a roadmap for the performance of universities in terms of future directions for policies. Educational and developmental, and at the same time we still do not know what are the reasons that prevent this despite the clarity of the principles of governance, which do not exclude anyone based on the importance and goals of the councils in correcting and rationalizing the decisions and directions of the internal house of universities.
What is being circulated in the academic community indicates an urgent need to review priorities, the most important of which is the full commitment to applying the principles of governance in universities through their councils to raise the level of joint harmony in university management and within a strategic framework that produces a future vision that serves as a roadmap capable of achieving qualitative change and development in light of University education developments, files and current challenges.
We are fully aware of the wisdom and keenness of the Governance Councils in our universities, but there is still something that stops many in the absence of disclosure of the performance and achievements of the University Governance Councils in their various files, which specialists see as the disclosure is the real evidence of the transparency of what is happening in the councils, and the extent to which university councils adhere to the principles of governance? And the transparency of the procedures controlling the performance of the Governance Councils, away from role-playing? And the basis for evaluating and measuring the visions, directions and decisions of the governing councils? What are the criteria for selecting decision makers and members of governing councils in universities? All of which are the keys to university governance to build a road map that qualifies them to win the future bet in light of everyone's anticipation.
Everyone's belief in the full commitment to applying the principles of governance in our universities requires a comprehensive review of the performance of the Governance Councils and their roles to ensure that they are able to translate their future aspirations compared to their regional and global counterparts, especially in light of the volume of new and large files such as international accreditations, classifications, academic quality, etc., which makes their absence a difficult process to win a bet for the future. And keeping us away from what we all aspire to, especially in light of the vision of His Majesty King Abdullah Ibn Al-Hussein and his trustworthy Crown Prince, may God protect and preserve them.
