Ramallah: The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) (Office of the Ombudsman) and the Coalition for Accountability and Integrity (Aman) held a discussion at the Red Crescent Society in al-Bireh for all parties involved in the crisis regarding the opening of medical colleges in Hebron governorate. The discussion was attended by university presidents, physicians, unionists, academics, human rights activists, specialists in health and education, and representatives from ministries.
In his opening remarks, ICHR Director General Dr. Ammar Duwaik said the hearing was to discuss the crisis and find common ground acceptable to all parties.
Aman Executive Director Majdi Abu Zaid applauded the attendance of all parties at the discussion and stated that Aman believed that the crisis was the result of a lack of transparency and clear financial policies, especially in light of the perplexity of the legislative framework governing accreditation grants for academic programs in higher education institutions.
Abu Zaid described the session as an opportunity for discussion after the recent media war between the government and Hebron University. He said the aim was to find common ground and respond to questions from parents in Hebron who are concerned about the enrollment of their children at the college of medicine. Abu Zaid asked why the Council of Ministers did not issue special regulations to govern the granting of accreditations for academic courses under the 1998 Higher Education Law or under the new decree by law amendment of 2018.
Abu Zaid also asked why legal requirements were not complied with in the regulations issued by the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission (AQAC), which is authorized to issue regulations and publish them in the Official Gazette. Abu Zaid also queried why the Council of Ministers intervened in granting approval for the establishment of new colleges of medicine rather than leaving this task to the AQAC at the Ministry of Higher Education, the body legally responsible for accreditation. He noted that the real reasons for the crisis between the government and Hebron University are unclear, as is the reason for the rejection of Hebron University’s request to obtain the licenses and accreditation required to establish the college. Was the request rejected because technical and professional conditions and standards were not met? Or was it for other reasons? He also queried why a government college of medicine should be established in Hebron: was it to meet the needs of Hebron governorate as the Ministries of Health and Education recently announced?
The Chair, Dr. Mamdoh al-Aker, former ICHR Commissioner General, called on participants to engage in a fruitful meeting by expressing different perspectives on the establishment of three medical colleges in Hebron governorate. With the benefit of the expertise of civil society and experts, “we have to come up with positive recommendations,” he said.
The Undersecretary to the Ministry of Education, Dr. Basri Saleh, reviewed the relationship of Hebron University with the Ministry and the AQAC for the establishment and licensing of a medical college at Hebron University. Saleh clarified that the government intends to establish a medical college after the failure of joint discussions between Hebron University and the Palestine Polytechnic University in which each institution insisted on licensing its own college. Saleh said the government wants to establish a college of medicine to encourage the enrolment of disadvantaged students. He noted that the Ministry had set up a committee comprising the undersecretaries of the Ministries of Education and Health, plus the Chairman of the AQAC. The committee proposed three scenarios: one of the two universities cede to the other; both institutions offer a joint program; or the establishment of a government college of medicine in Hebron governorate. The two universities rejected the proposed options so the government had taken the decision to establish a college. Subsequently, Hebron University announced the opening of registration for enrolment in a course for human medicine without the necessary approval from the AQAC. This had pushed the Ministry of Education to adopt administrative and legal measures to halt registration in the program.
Saleh noted that discussions between the three parties reached a positive point when they agreed to establish a joint course in human medicine, with the government fully committed to providing financial and logistical support. However, at the same time, Hebron University embarked on legal steps against the decision to halt registration in its medical course. It was this that led to the recent crisis between the university and the government.
Saleh added that the government did not take the decision to close, open or freeze the medical course in Hebron governorate at random but in response to a request by the Minister of Education. The letter from the Ministry to the two universities stated that the decision had been taken until national health policies had been clarified, and also due to limited training venues and hospitals, and the lack of qualified personnel available in the country for teaching and training.
Palestine Polytechnic University President Dr. Imad al-Khatib confirmed that a valid partnership exists between the government and the Polytechnic University for the establishment of a government medical college in Hebron governorate. He argued that there is every potential for success of a human medicine course, including the human and financial resources, the plot of land, and a plan for the construction of a university hospital. The Polytechnic is always ready to partner with Hebron University in this important project, he said.
According to the President of Hebron University, Dr. Salah al-Zaru, the University had intended to build an educational hospital in 2013 but the plan was rejected at the time as there was no medical college. The University then started correspondence with the Ministry of Education to establish a college at Hebron University to complement its existing health courses in nursing, pharmacy, and lab sciences. The University received an initial agreement from the Minister of Education Dr. Khawla Shakhsheer in 2015 and therefore embarked on preparing the infrastructure for the college at a cost of more than $15 million, which included building a medical college on an area of 15 thousand square meters. The University then presented a complete file to the AQAC to obtain official approval to establish a MD course in human medicine. The University received a reply saying that the application had been frozen pending clarification of health policies and no official reply had since been received by the University over the past three years. Zaru expressed astonishment at the requests made by ‘certain” parties to hospitals to stop partnership with Hebron University and wondered whether the issue of the college had been politicized.
Zaru said the Minister of Education had frozen the tripartite partnership with Hebron University because the latter had taken legal action. He denied that the University had filed a case at the Supreme Court and said the University had merely presented the court with a reply related to the case initiated by the Ministry to halt acceptance of new medical students. The University President said that the University is open to any just solution. Zaru also expressed astonishment that the government had intervened in the establishment of the college while it is in a financial deficit, and when all resources are available at Hebron University to establish a college of the highest standards.
An expert in higher education, Hisham Kuhail, commented that the higher education system suffers from chronic problems related to the absence of governance. Kuhail criticized the government’s policy of intervention but acknowledged the need for government to play a regulatory role that supports higher education courses without engaging in their administration or details. The government stance is not based on service quality standards, he added, and there has been no review of the efficacy of licensed courses at universities. He said that the Higher Council of Education had not been effective in the past due to its composition and the failure to enforce its decisions. Other bodies had been established like the AQAC and the Student’s Fund. Kuhail added that the AQAC was subordinate to the Ministry of Education when it should be independent, not politicized, and should operate in isolation from government decisions. The expert noted that all bodies governing the higher education sector do not function in harmony in service of a common policy; he also underlined the importance of diversity and the need for several medical colleges based on a unified Palestinian medical college that would include Al-Quds University, An-Najah National University, and Al-Azhar University in Gaza. He added that there are two medical colleges in al-Azhar University and the Islamic University in Gaza, separated only by a wall.
The former Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Khawla al-Shakhsheer, commented that a copy of the official letter issued while she was in office was missing, and it is not the first time that documents have been lost by AQAC, which has failed to manage files related to the accreditation of university educational courses in an effective manner. She said that there is nothing preventing Hebron University from opening a medical college; she investigated this issue when in office and visited the University at the time.
Aman’s legal advisor, Bilal Barghouthy, said that the Council of Ministers’ decision to grant accreditations conflicts with the rule of law. This authority is held legally by the AQAC, which should not hide behind the decisions of the Council of Ministers as it is not the competent party.
In conclusion, Dr. al-Aker said that meetings would continue to secure a just and professional resolution to the crisis which is having a detrimental effect on the social fabric of Hebron governorate.
