Teachers in northern Jordan continue strike

Saleh Zaitoun in Amman contributed to this report
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-03-29

[Salah Malkawi/ Getty Images] Jordanian students missed several days of classes during the teachers strike.

Teachers in northern Jordan continued their almost two-week old strike, while those in southern Jordan ended their walk-out after King Abdullah expressed solidarity with their plight.

"My directives to the government have always been to do their utmost to improve teachers' living conditions within available resources," the king said while meeting with the editors-in-chief of five local newspapers last week. King Abdullah's children attend private schools in Jordan.

Teachers in the governorates of Jerash and Ajloun, however, continued their strike after complaining that they were shut out of a meeting with Prime Minister Samir Rifai to discuss demands.

Jordanian teachers held a series of protests in front of their schools, ministries and government agencies, demanding their right to form a professional teachers' association, just like employees in all other sectors. Some civil organisations also joined the teachers in their strike which paralyzed schools for several days.

Education Minister Dr. Ibrahim Badran refused to yield to the teachers' demands, saying that he feared their demands to form a professional association may lead to their entry in politics, which is banned under Jordanian law.

According to a 1994 decision by the Higher Council for the Interpretation of the Constitution, the establishment of a professional teachers' association is unconstitutional.

"Associations in most countries are formed based on partisan and political blocks with certain political orientations," Badran told journalists.

The Ministry of Education insists it wants to keep students away from conflicts among political powers that usually dominate the professional associations because of their negative impact on education.

Badran appointed Dr. Fayez Al Saudi as Secretary General of the Ministry's Administrative and Financial Affairs to succeed former Secretary General Munther Asfour. Al Saudi went to meet with the protesting teachers in Al Karak and Tafileh to seek an end to the escalating crisis by considering their demands.

According to the government's spokesperson and Minister of Media and Communications Affairs, Dr. Nabil Al-Sharif, the government respects the teachers and appreciates their great role in educating generations of students.

However, he said, "The government will not allow a minority of teachers and instigators to tarnish the image of education and teachers in Jordan by abandoning their responsibilities towards our children, who have been entrusted to their hands, and disregarding constitutional articles and regulations."

Al-Sharif added that the government would take all necessary measures ‎‎against "those who have violated the public service law over the past few days, ‎‎which explicitly bans any public employee from participating in any ‎strike or protest."

The government promised to improve the living standards of the teachers within available resources and to consider their demands. It also called on the teachers to demonstrate the highest degree of national responsibility and refrain from disrupting the educational process.

During a meeting in Tafileh in southern Jordan early last week, the teachers discussed forming a national committee for teachers in the southern governorates.

Sharaf Abu Rumman, the spokesperson of a preparatory committee calling for the establishment of a teachers' association, said, "The current efforts aim to protect the future of the teaching profession." He also condemned the government's decision to close the Teachers' Club that served as a substitute for the proposed association.

Meanwhile, journalist Jamil Al-Nimri, a specialist in education, told Al-Shorfa, "The increase in calls for the establishment of a teachers' association is logical, as long as this sector has no union or representative ‎body."

"The minister's fears are not realistic anymore, and the concerns over the association's involvement in politics can be handled. Teachers are only calling for a strictly professional union, apart from any political objectives, and this is a natural right," Al-Nimri added.

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