Amman: His Royal Highness Prince Mired bin Raad, Chief Chamberlain and Chairperson of the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, honored several institutions that received the National Standards for Services for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder (NSD) Accreditation Certificate. Minister of Social Development Wafa Bani Mustafa attended the ceremony.
According to Jordan News Agency, four centers were awarded the Gold Category Recognition Certificate: Our Lady of Peace Center for Special Education, Banayyat Center for Special Education, Nazik Hariri Center for Special Education, and Masar Center and School for Child Development Services. Additionally, five centers received the Silver Category Recognition Certificate, including the Applied Consulting Center for Special Education, the Child Care Charitable Society, the Hajja Rafiqa Endowment for Persons with Disabilities, the Houran Plain Association, and the Zarqa Comprehensive Center for Inclusive Day Services. The Bronze Category Recognition Certificate was presented to the National Society for People with Special Needs and the Association of Families and Friends of Persons with Disabilities.
In his opening remarks, Secretary-General of the Council Muhannad Azzeh emphasized the significance of adopting a quality-based approach to service provision for persons with disabilities. He underlined the role of evaluation, accreditation, and adherence to quality standards as essential tools to ensure human rights-based service delivery. Azzeh noted that the Council's Accreditation Directorate has been working for eight years to obtain international recognition, having made significant progress toward accreditation from the International Society for Quality (ESCWA).
During a dialogue session held as part of the event, Mohammed Jabri, an academic expert and faculty member at the University of Jordan, stated that the national standards serve as a regulatory framework to ensure sustainable, high-quality services that align with His Majesty's vision. He added that the standards foster constructive competition among institutions, encourage self-evaluation, and support academic programs and applied research in the field.
Wafeeqa Deeb, Director of Rehabilitation, Education, and Development at Our Lady of Peace Center for Special Education, expressed the center's pride in joining the recognition program. She said that accreditation has helped the center enhance its organizational framework and improve the quality of its services, which has led to greater satisfaction among beneficiaries and strengthened teamwork.
Khawla Marar, an accredited evaluator with the Council, spoke about her experience and the rigorous preparation evaluators underwent, including theoretical and practical training and assessment tests. She stressed the importance of evaluating institutions based on clear national standards and evidence-based methodologies, including documents, observations, and interviews.
It is worth noting that the Higher Council began preparing institutions for accreditation eight years ago through a phased training process. This included the development of a team of qualified evaluators to conduct institutional visits and assessments in accordance with national standards for intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder services.