Hundreds of students hit by Ajman private university closure. The sudden closure of a private university in Ajman has affected nearly 1,000 students.
Ajman Municipality closed the private university while education officials said that ‘parents are to blame for their students’ plight since they had not checked the university’s status. Students told Albayan daily that they had asked the municipality to retrieve fees they had paid for the university or they would resort to court.
“Their parents should be held responsible because they had not checked with the Ministry of Higher Education whether this university is authorized or not,” said Dr Mohammed Badruddin, Head of the Academic section at the Ministry.
It is believed to have begun as an offshoot of Preston University in Wisconsin, US, but has twice been denied accreditation by the Commission for Academic Accreditation. Officials had struggled to verify its status as a branch campus, according to government sources.
Its four undergraduate and three postgraduate courses are accredited by the Pakistani Higher Education Commission. Badruddin said the university had been based in Dubai before moving to Ajman, adding that the Ministry had notified authorities in that emirate that the university is not officially licensed.
“They moved accordingly and shut the university, we appeal for all students’ parents not to fall in the trap of such dubious institutions,” he said.
