Need for compromise

Despite the prime minister’s repeated appeals to the Jordan Teachers Association not to go ahead with its open-ended strike, it still observed a period of work stoppage yesterday.

At a very recent press conference, the prime minister said that “it is unacceptable to take students hostages” to the teachers’ demands, also explaining that due to dire financial conditions, the government can ill afford to meet the demands of teachers.

The list of their demands is indeed “legitimate” and “fair”, as termed by Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh, who, while expressing support for the association’s demands, called on it to resort to dialogue with the government to address their woes.

Most of the JTA demands are related to the economic and social rights of the teachers, which, they say, have been ignored for too long.

Of course, these are deemed legitimate and one can easily identify with the teachers’ plight. What is more difficult to accept is the timing.

Why wait till now to declare a strike when school is supposed to start a week from now, on August 24?

Why not make their grievances heard during the two months of vacation, when it would not have affected the pupils?

As is, the entire education system needs a thorough reviewing — and that includes, besides curricula and infrastructure, teachers’ preparation, which sorely lacks, as shown most glaringly by the Tawjihi results this year. 

Of this there is no doubt.

Neither is there any uncertainty about the government’s inability to improve the lot of the teachers, as clearly expressed by the premier who declared, unequivocally: “This government has increased taxes and prices of many goods and services. Jordanian society will not accept directing the revenues of such measures to improve the salaries of a certain segment.”

It is unfortunate, and it looks like a stalemate.

But given the declared efforts of the Lower House to put its good offices at the service of both government and teachers with a view to reaching some reasonable accommodation between the harsh realities of the economic and financial conditions of the country and the legitimate rights of teachers, JTA would be better advised to put the strike on hold.

The educators of our children deserve all respect and the right to a good living. But like many other citizens, they need to understand that this moment in time may not be the best to press on with demands and not behave in a way that hurts students.

The children’s right to education is a top national priority. JTA must take this into serious consideration.