Medical faculties closed down

Yemeni authorities have ordered the closure of 52 medical faculties in private universities for failing to meet the minimum education criteria. "The decision has been taken after specialised committees visited eight private universities to see if the medicine facilities fit the criteria set up by the supreme education planning council and the supreme universities council," Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Ali Qasem told IRIN in the Yemeni capital, Sana. The measure was taken after media reports and complaints from students. The decision excluded the University of Science and Technology, which is to continue running the medicine faculty. The minister pointed out that the universities will have a chance to respond and they have been given a 50-page form to complete on the quality of teaching provided. He said that the document covered many issues such as the standards of laboratories, teaching staff and of libraries. The investigating committees reported that colleges were breaching the academic rules of the Ministry of Higher Education (MoE). "The main problem for these universities is that they hire unqualified teaching staff. They also lack the required facilities and equipment. They must work in a professional way. Business should not prioritise their academic responsibilities," Qasem maintained. The closure order, he said, will be put into effect from the beginning of August. "We do not want students to be affected by this decision and lose their academic year. We have taken this into account and they can continue their study this year and from next year we will work with these private universities to accommodate them in the seven state-run universities," he explained. On May 11, the Yemeni government issued a guide to the requirements for the licensing of a higher education institution. The authorities also decided to shut down some branches of private universities in provinces because of poor standards. It ruled that post-graduate programmes in these institutions and their branches should be halted until they meet criteria approved by the prime minister, who is also the chairman of the universities supreme council. The government added that the private universities need to restructure their academic, administrative, teaching, admission and examination systems.