AMMAN — A new study from the National Center for Human Rights (
NCHR) says the decline in the quality of education in Jordan has been taking toll on the sector for a long time, and has been only accelerated by the rapid and unexpected switch to online learning during
COVID-19.
اضافة اعلان
NCHR, in a position paper published on Thursday, attributed the cause for the “alarming pace of decline” in Jordan’s once-renowned education system to the “rough financial struggles that the Kingdom is experiencing, and several other frustrating elements,” including online teaching imposed by the COVID-19 situation.
Online education was quickly implemented in Jordan after closing schools and universities to reduce the spread of the virus. But the experience has been “largely unsuccessful, in need for more improvement and effort, and immature,” according to NCHR, which concluded that the method is “not an effective alternative to in-class teaching,” according to Najwa Qbeilat, Secretary General of the
Ministry of Education (MOE).
However, the quality of education has been diminishing for almost 10 years before the pandemic. Educational expert at the MOE Khaled Taqatqa told
Jordan News that the decline was “very real and tangible many years before the pandemic.”
“There are many reasons that rightfully lead to this decline,” Taqatqa said. “School curriculums’ and educational materials are being regularly updated to the worse. Materials taught to fourth graders now used to be taught to second grade students 10 years ago, which is not acceptable at all.”
“In my opinion, I believe that the environment in which teachers are working in the Kingdom is the main reason for this drastic drop,” he said. “Teachers get paid slightly over the minimum wage, and are overloaded with work, which naturally affects their functionality and enthusiasm for work.”
A recent and relevant example is being experienced in the context of the pandemic.
According to teacher Safad Al-Safadi, private school teachers are greatly suffering because of the Estidama (sustainability) program, designed under the Defense Law to offset the impact of the pandemic on workers.
Safadi said the program allows schools to slash teachers’ salaries if the school has proven to be negatively affected by the pandemic.
A teacher’s experience supports Taqatqa’s argument. “My contract indicated that I should be paid JD350, but I only get JD240 due to the Estidama program, taking into the consideration that the epidemiological situation has stabilized. Of course my enthusiasm for teaching will vanish,” teacher Anoud Al-Abdallat said.
Alternatively, local teacher Aseel Hudaib attributed students’ decline in achievement to the “fierce competition between private schools to lure as many students as possible to enroll and fooling parents into thinking that their children are doing amazing in school, instead of actual investment in their students.”
Hudaib also criticized the role that the Civil Service Bureau plays in hiring teachers for the public sector, which she linked to lower quality of education. “Hiring teachers based on a queue number instead of actual qualifications and personal experience is counterproductive to begin with,” she said.
“I know more than 10 teachers who got hired at 45 years old and older, based solely on their queue number.
They are hiring housewives to teach! These people graduated 25 years ago; they have zero knowledge and experience,” she claimed. “Hiring teachers should be based on an examination provided by MOE to test their qualifications.”
Similarly, teacher Asmaa Khader commented that a “teaching career can be tempting to lazy people, because it has short working hours and a decent payment.”
“Education is an investment. If we don’t proceed and return what we have invested then what’s the point?” said educational expert Radi Al-Otoum in an interview with
Jordan News. “The entire approach of teaching in Jordan needs to be re-evaluated.”
Otoum suggested some ways in which education in Jordan could improve, such as “encouraging teachers to push them to their maximum abilities by making them compete with for incentives given to the best performing teachers.
Sameeha Al-Amr, a mother of three children studying at a private school, says that she feels she wishes that education in Jordan would return to what it used to be.
“I’m worried for the future of my children because I know that they are not receiving the same quality of education equal to that I used to be getting,” Amr told
Jordan News.
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