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AlDameer for Human Rights and the Coalition for Accountability and
Integrity AMAN organized a workshop for the universities’ Boards of
Trustees in the Gaza Strip yesterday – Wednesday 4-11-2009. It aimed at
opening a channel for communication among the universities’ boards and
to share experiences relevant to the control process, developing
administrative systems to be implemented in universities as well as the
kinds of challenges and obstacles they may encounter.
Representatives, deputies as well as heads of boards attended the
workshop which was held at Laterna restaurant in Gaza city. Some
lecturers and university professors and members of AlDameer Board of
Directors also attended. Participants represented al-Azhar, al-Aqsa, and
the Islamic universities, while al-Quds Open University apologized and
did not attend the event.
The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Sami Musa, AlDameer’s advocate, and
Ms. Nadia al-Bayomi, AMAN’s office manager. They welcomed the
participants and clarified the purpose of this workshop as part of
implementing the activities of the plan of the good governance project
and raising awareness of the Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Mohammed al-Aklouk, member of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic
University talked about the university’s experience in practicing
oversight through: empowering the Board and the President of the
university to strengthen the monitoring role among the employees,
enhancing the role of the board by offering full support, the
probability of having a homogenous relationship among its members, and,
last but not least, holding regular meetings for the committees of the
board.
He asserted that the reason this monitoring process is a success is that
the staff and faculty members perceive the system with respect and abide
by its rules.
Dr. Kamal al-Shirafi, Chief of the Board of Trustees at al-Aqsa
Univeristy talked about the university’s experience in this field. He
pointed out that they apply oversight on three levels: institutional,
official and internal represented in public control, the ministry and
the internal control since it is a public-state university.
Eng. Sa’d elDeen, secretary of the Board of Trustees at al-Azhar
Univeristy talked about their experience saying that the university has
laws and regulations in which they abide by. It attains separation of
powers and determines the responsibility of the key bodies in the
university beginning with the Board, the president, the council,
administrations, deanery, and reaching the labor union, and students’
councils. Therefore, the Board of Trustees sees that the university and
all components of which are disciplined.
He also added: “we, at the Board of Trustees, form specialized
committees, such as the academic committees the legal committee the
financial committee, the facilities and development committee, and the
supervising committee of the middle college. All the aforementioned form
a monitoring mechanism where each operates based on its specialty. Apart
from that, the Board has a financial controller who audits and controls
finance in accordance with the expenditure mechanisms and fixing any
mistakes that may occur.
Eng. Kharma pointed that the university has a legal consultant operating
with the legal committee where his role is to monitor the extent to
which decisions and procedures comply with the provisions of the law.”
Participants agreed on the following challenges and obstacles
encountered by the Board:
The Israeli blockade and its impacts, the impact of the last aggression
on Gaza which generated enormous damages for many universities among
which are the Islamic University, the Palestinian internal division, the
multiplicity of references and the absence and alienation of the law.
One of the challenges in which al-Azhar and the Islamic universities
agreed on is that they have never received their appropriations from the
Ministry of Education in order to continue there programs.
The main recommendations concluded by the Boards of Trustees are to
safeguard universities against political conflict, to prepare a Code of
Ethics, to form a mechanism of communication among the boards and to
exchanges experiences, and to have student councils’ elections.
Participants expressed their consent and agreement
on a suggestion presented by Kalil abu Shamaleh, director of AlDameer,
as he suggested continuing to meet in order to find mechanisms of
coordination that would serve and leverage the Palestinian universities
and regulates colleges in universities to serve the students, the
society, and the labor market at the same time.
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