Education and more

The Lower House has decided to step in and define who is and who is not a journalist.

The issue before the deputies now is the minimum educational requirement for Jordanians to join the Jordan Press Association.

The Lower’s House members have decided that a bachelor’s degree is the minimum required for membership in JPA, plus one or two years of training, depending on the type of university degree of an individual.

It is fine to say that journalists must be well educated and trained — especially considering the fact that they often shape minds and policies — but shouldn’t this issue be left to the JPA to decide, rather than at the whim of parliamentarians, many of whom themselves lack the “minimum” bachelor’s degree required of journalists?

Amendments to the JPA law made exceptions in the case of some people who do not qualify academically but have already served as journalists for a minimum of eight years, but this exception to the rule does not apply to new applicants wishing to join the profession.

No one doubts the value of university degrees for journalists, and this requirement is certainly defensible in principle.

Yet, worldwide, the profession has witnessed countless cases of exceptionally high quality journalism by people who do not have a university degree.

Best thing would be for JPA to set rules deciding who may be a journalist.

Journalists have their association so that they may set their own guidelines and rules on the practice of the profession.

JPA should know what is best for it and its members and Parliament should only endorse JPA’s decision.

Journalism is a skill that university education alone may not endow a person with, so the level of schooling should not be the sole criterion in deciding who makes the cut in the profession.