Masked men attack school in Maan, set official’s car on fire

AMMAN — Masked men burst into a school in Southern Badia District on Tuesday, burning tyres and setting an eduation officer’s car on fire. 

No injuries were reported among the 300 students at Prince Rashed School for Girls where the attack took place before the start of classes around 7:00am.

Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times the area had been unstable since the Ministry of Education school-merging programme began.

The ministry began merging public schools that had less than 20 students in an attempt to enhance the quality of education and the performance of teachers, but the decision was met with outrage by some parents as the new schools might be distant from their homes.

Some parents of students from some of the merged schools in Irbid, Zarqa and Jerash had earlier refused to send their children to school, citing the said reasons. 

The ministry merged 41 schools and vacated 33 rented buildings under this programme, which concluded before the start of this academic year on September 1st.

Director of the Southern Badia District Education Department Salem Mahayreh, who rushed to the scene after a call from the school headmistress, said the school “was like a warzone", adding that the attackers tried to hit him with clubs. 

"A number of teachers and parents surrounded me for protection and called the police.”

He took refuge in a nearby house, where he called Minister of Education Mohammad Thneibat. The minister told him to remain in the house until police arrived. 

“I felt like a hostage," noted Mahayreh, who estimated there were 20 attackers. He later knew that they set his car on fire.

Sartawi said the incident was being investigated, rejecting at the same time the official’s allegations that police’s response to the situation was late.

“Police responded immediately to the call,” the officer said. 

Mahayreh believed the reason behind the attack was the ministry's school-merging policies, as the school was "the only one in the area whose teachers refused to strike against the merging process". 

Mahayreh expressed support for the ministry's new measures, which he said were meant to improve the level of education in remote areas.