Teachers association says House-proposed law amendments threaten profession

AMMAN — The Jordan Teachers Association (JTA) council and its branch administrations held an emergency meeting on Friday to stress the “dangers of the Lower House’s proposed amendments to the JTA Law”.

The council also agreed to hold meetings with the branches’ commissions to acquaint them with the “dangerous repercussions” of the amendments.

In addition, the JTA decided to organise a sit-in on Sunday near Parliament during a scheduled meeting between JTA council members and the House’s Legal Committee.

In a statement, the syndicate said its members expressed shock and anger over the suggested amendments, arguing that they “were written without referring to the JTA’s central committee or council”.

“The amendments will strip more than 80,000 teachers — from the public and private sectors — of their membership in the JTA by cancelling compulsory membership,” the statement said.

The amendments will also deprive around 30,000 teachers, in administrative positions, of educational incentives and Royal makrumas due to redefining the term “teacher”, according to the statement.

“These amendments target teachers by depriving them of a real association that can actively participate in the profession and defend teachers and their interests,” the statement added.

The proposed amendments, the JTA charged, turn the syndicate into an affiliate of the Education Ministry and leave it without any financial or administrative independence.

The statement stressed that the amendments represent a “dangerous precedent” in interfering in association work, calling on the House’s Legal Committee to withdraw them to avoid their “catastrophic repercussions” on education, teachers and the syndicate.