The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, discussed with the Director of Education Programs at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Cameron Mirza, ways to enhance existing cooperation between the University and USAID. Massad stressed the keenness of Yarmouk, represented by its Faculty of Educational Sciences, to harness all its efforts and energies to implement the early education project (ASAS) supported by USAID, which aims at establishing an undergraduate program in early education, developing the level of quality in early education programs, and supporting the University’s insistence to provide its graduates with the knowledge and skills required to engage in the educational labor market inside and outside Jordan. Massad stated that Yarmouk is considered one of the distinguished university environments in Jordan and is capable of embracing and making this project a success, as evident in its successful implementation of the Higher Diploma Program for Teacher Preparation. He then called for expanding the horizon of cooperation between the United States Agency for International Development and Yarmouk through providing scholarships for distinguished students in the majors of classroom teacher and early education, which can ensure the sustainability of the programs implemented in cooperation between the two sides.
In return, Mirza affirmed USAID’s belief in Yarmouk University’s ability to implement and make the (ASAS) project a success, acknowledging the University’s distinguished academic cadres and their interest in developing their skills and knowledge in the different fields of knowledge. He then stressed the agency’s readiness to cooperate with Yarmouk in various fields with the aim of achieving sustainable development in different majors like early education programs. Moreover, he expressed the organization’s readiness to support the Faculty of Educational Sciences in the procedures of obtaining the CAP certificate in the educational field. Then he explained that the (ASAS) project seeks to improve the level of education and qualification of students in kindergarten programs and classroom teachers for the first three grades, a goal that can be achieved through providing university students with the various educational, practical, and academic skills that ensure their involvement in the field of educational work efficiently and competently.
The meeting was attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Dr. Ahmed Al-Sharifin, and Dr. Saeb Khasawneh, Director of Pre-Service Teacher Education Programs at IREX.
