Association registers increase in assaults on teachers, urges action

AMMAN — Thirty-nine assaults on teachers were recorded during the first half of 2015, 10 per cent of which were referred to court, whereas the rest were resolved through reconciliation, a Jordan Teachers Association (JTA) statement said Monday. 

The statement said the figure marks a rise in assaults, since only 25 cases were recorded during the first six months of 2014. 

In this year’s incidents, students attacked teachers by hitting them with clubs and cleavers, and they also raided classrooms, formed gangs and fired gunshots, according to the statement.

JTA President Hussam Masheh charged that the number of attacks during the first half of this year indicates that no one is seriously working to resolve the phenomenon, which threatens the institution of education in its entirety.

Moreover, he noted that the assailants have not only targeted teachers, but also education directors in governorates.

“My dignity is above all else,” the statement quoted Ahmad Shajrawi as saying. The teacher described the students he deals with as “thugs”. 

The attacks will continue as long as there are no deterrent laws to stop them, the statement said.

In one of the incidents at the beginning of June, a teacher at Netel Secondary School for Boys in Jiza District prevented a student from sitting for an exam because he attempted to cheat. The student, who flung insults at the teacher and left, returned later with his father and 30 relatives who attacked the teacher, along with another one, hitting them with clubs.

In March, the JTA said it registered four cases of assaults against teachers in Jiza in the span of two months.

The JTA has previously called on the government to expedite the endorsement of the draft teachers safety and security law.

Under the proposed law, those who assault teachers will pay a fine of at least JD1,000 and be jailed for between five months and one year even if the teacher drops the charges.