Education minister warns against violence in schools

AMMAN — Violence whether physical, verbal or psychological are rampant in many public and private schools, which necessitates dealing with them as “a phenomenon” rather than individual cases, Education Minister Omar Razzaz said on Saturday.

Commenting on a video that went viral on social media, which showed a teacher berating a kindergarten child, swearing at him and the entire class amidst widespread shock, Razzaz said that the ministry will investigate the incident and take proper action against the teacher.

The minister added that different opinions on the incident reflects three challenges that should be addressed jointly, by teachers, parents, school administration and specialists, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The first challenge lies in overcoming the “scapegoat” mindset, he said. The second issue requires changing the view that there is conflict between the rights of teachers, children and parents. Instead, Razzaz stressed, efforts should be unified to reach a safe educational environment. 

The third challenge, which is the most difficult to address, according to Razzaz, is to acknowledge “the humane nature” and that dignity and sanctity are the purposes of school development, stressing that physical, psychological and verbal abuses do not lead to building good citizens.

He added that fear and worry at an early age lead to atrophy of the brain cells, noting that it has been proved that physical and verbal punishments cannot change students’ behaviours. 

The minister said that alternatives to punishments, which include activities building the personality of students and channelling their energy towards useful practices, have become familiar to all.

Meanwhile, he stressed that attacks by students or parents on teachers are in direct contradiction with humanitarian and moral values, and that they are responsible for the degradation of the job, educational process and the entire school environment.

In this regard, Razzaz said that all parts of the educational process are interrelated and attacks are fuelled by the fact that each side thinks of itself as the only victim, which justifies attacking others.