Amman, Oct. 27 (Petra) -- The Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission for Higher Education Institutions held a two-day consultation workshop on Monday and Tuesday to review and refine general (quantitative) and quality assurance (qualitative) accreditation standards for schools and kindergartens across the Central Region.

The workshop gathered educational development consultants, heads of supervision departments, school principals, and quality coordinators to evaluate proposed indicators and align them with operational realities in educational institutions.

Saad Bani Mohammad, Vice President of the Commission, emphasized a participatory approach to developing accreditation frameworks, noting that the commission's role extends beyond identifying operational weaknesses to actively assisting institutions in addressing challenges and driving continuous improvement.

Bani Mohammad highlighted that students remain the core focus of the educational process, stressing that updated accreditation standards aim to ensure students acquire essential competencies, preparing them for higher education and future labor market demands.

Dr. Zaid Al-Bashaireh, head of the standards development committee, said the initiative focuses on ensuring clarity, precision, and practical applicability of both quantitative and qualitative criteria in field settings. Meanwhile, Nabil Al-Hanaqteh, head of the Accountability and Quality Unit, underscored the value of integrating practical feedback from frontline educators into the evaluation model.

The quantitative criteria cover foundational infrastructure, administrative organization, staffing ratios, capacity limits, facilities, safety protocols, and general eligibility requirements. The qualitative framework evaluates performance across four primary pillars: governance and leadership, teaching and learning, student care and progress, and human and physical resources.

Participants discussed specific performance indicators during focus group sessions, addressing private school financial sustainability, resource allocation, staff retention, job security, differentiated instruction methods, active learning, and varied assessment tools aimed at linking education to practical life.

//Petra// AF