‘Gov’t to appoint PhD holders with disabilities at public universities’

AMMAN — The government will work on appointing PhD holders with disabilities at public universities in line with the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, according to a senior official. 

Earlier this week, a group of people with disabilities who are PhD holders staged a sit-in near the Prime Ministry demanding they be appointed at public universities or state institutions.

Basel Tarawneh, the government coordinator on human rights, told The Jordan Times that the grievances of the protesters were given “special” attention by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, who “instructed the concerned parties to respond to their demands in accordance with the relevant law”.

“Ensour met with the 13 PhD holders and promised to have their demands met according to Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” Tarawneh said.

Right after the meeting, Ensour sent a circular to all public agencies instructing them to assign an employee to deal with the demands of persons with disabilities, the official noted.

Tarawneh said Higher Education Minister Amin Mahmoud also met with the protesters and promised to study their demands and keep them informed of any developments.

Under the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, people with disabilities should constitute 5 per cent of employees at public institutions with 25 or more staff members.

On Tuesday, Ensour called on all public institutions to provide Tarawneh with their ideas, notes and suggestions on how to improve the status of human rights in Jordan to be included in the national strategy that the government is preparing, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The human rights coordinator explained that the government has taken a set of procedures in line with its efforts to improve the status of human rights in the Kingdom.

In addition to revisiting all laws, regulations and practices on human rights, Tarawneh said the projected strategy will also be aimed at spreading a culture that respects human rights in Jordan.