AROQA Awards Academic Accreditation to Al Omaria Schools
AMMAN- August 10 2015- The Academic Accreditation Council at the Arab Organization for Quality Assurance in Education (AROQA) awarded academic accreditation to Al Omaria Schools, which became the first school obtaining such an accreditation in the Kingdom, after it achieved the quality standards in education at all administrative, academic, environmental, performance, resources and systems levels.
HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, AROQA chairman, said that the Organization was established under the umbrella of the League of Arab States and chaired by the Secretary General of the Arab League. AROQA is the only organization in the Arab world that awards certificates of academic accreditation. It also seeks to develop education quality to achieve the objective of providing quality education for all.
During the accreditation ceremony of Al Omaria Schools, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh emphasized that the Schools exerted significant efforts to promote the education quality for all its students, noting that obtaining the academic accreditation from AROQA came after continuous efforts to improve quality of education and guarantee distinguished education outcomes in its various branches.
Abu-Ghazaleh also praised the role of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education in supporting and developing educational programs and curricula, stressing that AROQA operates upon the instructions and in cooperation of both Ministries.
Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh believes that Al Omaria Schools will be a model example for other schools seeking to develop their programs and curricula and attracting students searching for quality-accredited education. Abu-Ghazaleh also indicated that AROQA is currently working to evaluate numerous schools to consider awarding them accreditation, emphasizing that this trend is in consistence with the directions of King Abdullah II to develop education and digital education in the Kingdom.
Abu-Ghazaleh made clear that accreditation criteria are difficult and delicate, and were developed by a committee chaired by the former Minister of Higher Education Dr. Amin Mahmoud. He also indicated that an approved bulletin including the names of schools awarded accreditation will be published to mobilize other schools to seek development and attract students searching for quality education.
Mr. Hisham Abdul Muti, director general of Al Omaria Schools, said that the academic accreditation experience of the Schools is considered an important practical step that contributes to guaranteeing quality and excellence of education within the framework of mutual and integrated cooperation between the administration, teacher, student and parents.
He added that the Schools always seek development and updating of their programs, which led it to submit an application to AROQA for accreditation. The Organization commenced the evaluation processes as of May 2014. Although Al Omaria Schools hold an “ISO” certificate for management quality, it has been ambitious to obtain a certificate in quality education.
Mr. Abdul Muti also emphasized the significance of this Organization, which shows the schools operating on clear institutional bases within specified controls.
AROQA released the academic accreditation standards for schools in consistence with the international standards. Such standards contribute to preparing academic and administrative staff by applying the local and international criteria and procedures related to administration, teaching, educational environment, evaluation and infrastructure towards reaching exceptional levels of educational services.
AROQA started working with Al Omaria Schools to implement quality standards and obtain academic accreditation within the framework of supporting the quality and development of educational systems and services in the Arab region. The implementation of quality and academic accreditation standards involves developing the vision and objectives in consistence with the accelerating educational developments in the knowledge era, improving governance and leadership to support the efforts of continuous development, applying modern and advanced methods of teaching and education to provide remarkable learning opportunities to the students and equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills, activating a comprehensive evaluation system to measure the extent of development and improvement, providing the necessary technical resources to support the educational process as well as complying with the continuous development process to guarantee and improve quality.
It is worthy to mention that AROQA is an international non-profit independent association established in Belgium in July 2007 with the fundamental objective of raising the quality of education in general, with a major focus on the Arab world in particular.