The National Center for Curriculum Development (NCCD) said that the first edition of its publications is typically a prototype that is developed and modified based on feedback from the community and educational stakeholders, such as parents, teachers, experts, and students. This process is ongoing throughout the academic year with the goal of refining the material and improving it.
In a statement released on Saturday about rumors concerning its publications, the NCCD emphasized that the process for producing textbooks goes through numerous steps of verification, review, and approval. The book manuscript is first written by “national authors who operate in accordance with established national, religious, and societal values and constants, as well as scientific, educational, and value standards, and are not subject to any form of pressure or dictation. When the manuscript is finished, it is sent for arbitration scientifically and educationally to scholars and instructors from different Jordanian universities.
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he statement added: “Workshops are then held to discuss and review these books, attended by teachers and educational supervisors from all governorates of the Kingdom. The manuscript also goes through specialized councils at the NCCD, whose members include a number of educational leaders, experts and representatives of various educational authorities in the Kingdom, until it is officially approved by the Ministry of Education through its various committees and the Education Council, whose members include national, religious, scientific, educational, and intellectual figures.”
On the art education, the NCCD clarified that it is not new but rather an old subject that has been taught to pupils for many years without having a dedicated book. The National Center has produced an experimental edition of art education books for some grades that cover the basic areas of this subject, such as drawing, music, and theater, “and a comprehensive review of these books finds that they cover many and multiple topics: religiou
s songs, traditional songs, folk songs, purposeful theater, and visual and aesthetic arts, in accordance with the nature of this subject and in harmony with the heritage of Jordanian society.
Regarding the rumors on ignoring Jordanian national symbols, the NCCD confirmed that this is inaccurate, indicating that these books are filled with a large number of Jordanian symbols and sons and their rich biographies; there are also entire units in the Arabic language course that deal with Jordanian national identity and gather a group of Jordanian martyrs throughout its history.
As for rumors on the Islamic education curriculum, including the absence of the Holy Quran, recitation and Tajwid lessons, and the omission of jihad verses, the NCCD stressed that Islamic education books include recitation, memorization and interpretation of several chapters of the Holy Quran from the first grade to the twelfth grade. There are also classes dedicated to teaching students all the rules of recitation and Tajwid from fourth t
o tenth grade. In addition, Islamic education textbooks address all concepts related to jihad, its hypothesis, its importance, and its role in preserving holy sites and homelands. Many lessons are devoted to the Palestinian cause, Jerusalem, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The NCCD emphasized the importance of verifying information before publishing it and avoiding partial quotations when providing any observation or opinion, emphasizing that it is a governmental institution founded on solid national, religious, and societal foundations; it bears responsibility and a genuine desire for development; and it welcomes all forms of electronic and face-to-face communication with its administrative and technical cadres.
Source: Jordan News Agency