Amman, Jan 12 (Petra) - The Cabinet, at a session held on Monday and chaired by Prime Minister Jaafar Hassan, approved the draft Law on Education and Human Resources Development for 2026, in preparation for referring it to the Lower House of Parliament to proceed with its approval in accordance with constitutional procedures.

The draft law comes as part of ongoing efforts to restructure and modernize the education sector in the kingdom, within the government’s commitment to implementing the Economic Modernisation Vision, the Public Sector Modernisation Roadmap and related initiatives. These include the establishment of the Ministry of Education, Teaching and Human Resources Development as the legal successor to the Ministries of Education and Higher Education and Scientific Research.

The draft law reflects the outcomes of scientific efforts undertaken in recent years, which included a comprehensive and systematic assessment of the education sector in line with best practices, with the participation of numerous experts, academics and specialists.

The legislation stems from the need to unify the authorities responsible for the education and human resources development ecosystem across all educational stages, in a manner that supports the education pathway and its development, and establishes a new structure for the education system.

The draft law aims to raise the quality of education at all levels in accordance with national and international standards, improve outputs, quality and competitiveness, and prioritize key foundations that enhance scientific research and innovation, ensure sustainability in development and modernization, and maintain the guarantee of free education at the basic stages.

It also seeks to develop graduates’ skills to enhance their competitiveness in the labor market by aligning educational outputs with labor market and development needs, as well as strengthening the autonomy of Jordanian universities.

Among key features of the new education law and related legislative amendments are the establishment of a national council to approve national policies for human resources development, chaired by the prime minister, and assigning the new Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development responsibility for policymaking across all educational stages. These include early childhood education, basic and secondary education, higher education, and vocational and technical education and training.

The new legislation also aims to ensure advanced quality standards by confining accreditation and quality assurance to the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission, expanding its scope to cover all education and training institutions at all levels, public and private. It further seeks to enhance efficiency and effectiveness through designing a new administrative organisational structure for the ministry, comprising nine general directorates, with broad delegation of executive powers to education directorates, whose number will be reduced in line with student numbers and geographic areas.

The draft law includes strengthening university autonomy and limiting the ministry’s role in higher education to setting policies and technical standards, licensing establishments, verifying the alignment of higher education and vocational and technical education outputs with labour market requirements, and approving strategies.

On the tourism sector support and revitalisation, the Cabinet approved the Regulation on traditional crafts and industries and trading therein for 2026, as well as an amended regulation for the Jordanian Association for traditional crafts and industries and their traders for 2026.

The approval implements the provisions of the amended Tourism Law No. 9 of 2024, which included measures abolishing the licensing requirement from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities as a regulatory tool for practising tourism professions and activities, replacing it with other regulatory tools such as classification for legal entities, including traditional crafts and industries shops, and registration for natural persons such as artisans and craftsmen. It also abolishes licensing fees, contributing to reducing costs for practitioners, simplifying procedures, and improving the business environment in line with the objectives of the Economic Modernisation Vision.

These amendments are expected to encourage individuals, particularly members of local and rural communities, to establish workshops or shops to sell handicrafts, helping create job opportunities, enhance the national tourism offerings, and empower women and persons with disabilities through exemptions or reductions in annual membership fees for these groups.

The Cabinet also decided to approve the unification of procedures for tourist groups at Sheikh Hussein Crossing and Wadi Araba Crossing, in line with procedures applied at the King Hussein Bridge, whereby they are not required to stay an additional night in the kingdom.

The decision included waiving the requirement for consecutive nights of stay in the kingdom, provided the total stay is not less than two nights, to facilitate the work of offices organising tourist trips, particularly when border crossing hours are adjusted or crossings are closed. The measure aims to enable Jordanian travel and tourism agencies to design more flexible and stable tourism programmes, simplify procedures, and enhance Jordan’s competitiveness as a leading tourism destination, particularly for religious tourism routes, including Umrah and Christian pilgrimage, and applies to arrivals from Arab 48 communities.

As part of completing the legislative framework for modernising the media sector, the Cabinet approved the mandating reasons for the draft Regulation on Digital Media Organisation for 2026 and related amended draft regulations, in preparation for sending them to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau to complete approval procedures in accordance with due process.

The decision included approving the mandating reasons for draft amendments to the Regulation on Licensing and Relicensing of Radio and Television Broadcasting and Rebroadcasting and the fees levied thereon for 2026, the Regulation on Licensing and Monitoring of Audio-Visual Works for 2026, and the Regulation on Fees and Licensing of Printing Presses, Publishing Houses, Distribution Houses, Research and Studies Centres, Public Opinion Measurement Centres, Translation Houses, Advertising Offices and Periodicals for 2026.

The draft Digital Media Regulation for 2026 aims to establish a comprehensive legislative framework to regulate digital media on clear foundations, enhance Jordan’s standing in the regional and international digital media landscape, and support the development of and investment in the digital media sector.

The draft regulation underwent consultations with a number of official bodies and sectors and in-depth dialogues with civil society organisations before being submitted by the commission to the Cabinet, which approved the mandating reasons and referred it to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau. The bureau will publish the draft regulation on its website in accordance with governing legislation.

The regulation will contribute to developing and organising the digital media environment, including the use of related modern technologies, enabling media institutions to operate within a clear and practical legislative environment that keeps pace with rapid developments in the digital world.

The draft regulation considers digital tools belonging to media institutions licensed by the commission prior to its entry into force as not requiring licensing. These institutions may voluntarily register their digital communication tools with the commission, provided their general content is consistent with material published through the print publication or television or radio station.

The regulation will also enhance protection for producers of professional digital media work in various aspects, including strengthening intellectual property protection, improve the quality of digital content, safeguard the rights of media audiences, and provide a legislative framework for the ethics of using artificial intelligence technologies.

The draft regulation distinguishes between mandatory licensing and optional registration with the Media Commission. It specifies activities that require obtaining a licence from the commission, while exempting individuals who publish personal content on social media platforms. It obliges professional digital content creators to obtain a licence if they engage in activities requiring licensing, such as advertising and production, while granting content creators not required to obtain a licence the right to register their digital communication tools in the commission’s records in return for a service fee.

To support and facilitate investment in the energy sector, the Cabinet approved the mandating reasons for the Regulation on Conditions for Granting and Renewing Licences and the Fees Levied Thereon for 2026, pursuant to the provisions of the in-force General Electricity Law and in line with legislative requirements for specified activities.

The move aims to unify and regulate procedures for granting and renewing licences for electricity sector activities and related fees, and to update the legislative framework to keep pace with technological developments and newly emerging activities in the energy market.

The draft regulation seeks to enhance transparency and simplify procedures for investors and operators by consolidating licensing conditions and fees into a single legislative text that is easy to apply, ensures procedural stability, and maintains existing fee levels without imposing any increase on current fees applied to licensed entities.

It adopts incentive mechanisms, including zero fees for newly introduced activities with a positive impact on the electricity system, such as renewable energy storage and independent transmission activities, in support of investment, innovation and the requirements of energy transition. It also aims to ensure integration between electricity grids and renewable energy resources, strengthen technical and financial governance, and provide a balanced legislative environment that supports sector growth while safeguarding the rights of all stakeholders.

Separately, the Cabinet approved an agreement to supply natural gas to the Syrian Arab Republic between the National Electric Power Company and the Syrian Petroleum Company affiliated with Syria’s Ministry of Energy, which is set to be signed shortly.

Under the agreement, the kingdom’s infrastructure, including ports and pipelines, will be used to import liquefied natural gas from global markets and pump it through the Arab Gas Pipeline to supply power generation stations in southern Syria, covering part of Syria’s natural gas needs.

The decision included exempting the agreement from all taxes and fees, including customs duties.

The agreement comes within the framework of fraternal relations between the two countries and as a continuation of the support provided by the kingdom to the Syrian Arab Republic across various fields, in support of its efforts to achieve security, stability and prosperity, and to safeguard the interests of its citizens.

//Petra// AF

12/01/2026 21:00:33