Syndicate urges more measures to prevent assaults on teachers

AMMAN — The teachers syndicate on Monday blamed the strict procedures taken by the Education Ministry during the last two sessions of the General Secondary Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) for the "rising number" of assaults on educators.

"Recently, the Education Ministry tightened its measures for the Tawjihi and did not take into consideration the protection of teachers," claimed Mohammad Saqer, head of the Jordan Teachers Association's (JTA) public relations department.

Education Ministry Spokesperson Walid Jallad, however, said the ministry is committed to protecting teachers, noting that it referred 27 cases of assaults against educators to court last year.

"We will stand against any case that involves the use of violence against teachers," Jallad told The Jordan Times.

Saqer said the syndicate counted 56 incidents involving assaults on teachers between 2013 and January 2015, but stressed that the actual number is higher since the tally was based on the cases published in media outlets.

"There are many incidents that were too sensitive to be made public, so they were not counted," Saqer told The Jordan Times over the phone.

He noted that the attacks, which also targeted school principals and supervisors, ranged from physical to verbal assaults.

"Some teachers were threatened by students or their family members who carried weapons. Some assailants have damaged teachers' cars," the JTA official said.

"Other attackers produce fake medical reports and present them to the police to blame teachers for the assault, turning them into assailants when they are the victims," Saqer added.

He called for the adoption of "a national document" to protect teachers that includes legislative amendments to the Penal Code.

"If a national campaign is held by the JTA in cooperation with Parliament and the Education Ministry, I am sure that the number of attacks will be lower this year."