Parents of school students upset with expected switch to earlier summertime

AMMAN — The expected decision to switch to an earlier summertime this year has drawn mixed reactions from parents of school students.

In 2021, the Cabinet decided to switch summertime (daylight savings time) to midnight of the last Thursday of February instead of the last Friday of March. However, a similar decision has not yet been made this year. 

Most parents The Jordan Times contacted on Tuesday said that there is no need to switch to summertime to a month earlier, as it is still cold and there is no good reason for it.

“Currently I cannot afford to pay a driver to take my children to school. My kids walk to school every day, and changing the time means that it would still be dark,” Subhi Mohammad, who is a father of two middle and high school students, told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The sun currently rises around 6:20am. At the end of February it will rise at 6am, according to Mohammad, who noted that when the time changes the sun will instead rise at 7am.

Sandra Maaytah, a mother of a high school student, told The Jordan Times that her daughter’s school bus arrives in front of their house every day at 6:15am, and it is always dark when she leaves home.

“Summertime will continue almost eight months,” said Maaytah, noting that “most university students in my family are also upset and against the decision, because they dislike using public transport while it is still dark. They feel unsafe”.

Meanwhile, Sarah Hussein, a mother of two, told The Jordan Times that she cannot wait for the summer timing to start, as the day becomes longer and she can send her son to more after-school activities.

“Whether it is summer or wintertime, I take my son to school 20 minutes before his first class begins,” she added.

To mark the start of summertime this year, clocks will be set forward one hour at midnight on the last Thursday of February.