AMMAN —
Ministry of Education figures show that some 200,000 students moved from
private to public schools since the COVID-19 pandemic started, a clear
indication of changing priorities, as people resort to saving whatever money
they can for fear of the coming days.
اضافة اعلان
This year,
official figures show that the ministry accepted over 15,000 students who moved
from private to public schools.
“All of the
15,000 students accepted this year were accommodated through a directive to the
Directorate of Education via a two-shift school system; 30 schools changed to a
two-shift system (morning and evening) for this year. In addition, the ministry
had rented, and is in the process of renting, more than 20 school buildings and
entered into possession of a number of new school buildings,” ministry
spokesman Ahmad Al-Masa’afa told
Jordan News.
He added that
“there are about 18,000 students still on the waiting list”.
Besides
resorting to two shifts, and renting or acquiring more schools, “4,000 new
school teachers have been hired for the new school year, and 6,000 temporary
substitute teachers are to be appointed”, he said, adding that the ministry
“hopes to accommodate all remaining students this coming week”.
According to
Masa’afa, one major challenge the ministry faces is duplication in
registrations, which makes it harder for the ministry to assess the accurate
number of students that have transferred from private to public schools.
“Some parents
have registered their children in multiple schools to get a better chance of
having a seat secured. Therefore, it will take some time to get an accurate and
comprehensive statistical number of accommodated transfers and waiting list
students,” he elaborated.
Masa’afa said
that “the ministry asks parents to cooperate with us so we are able to absorb
all the numbers of students transferring to public schools. Some parents want
their children in specific schools, rather than in those in geographical
proximity to their residence, for different reasons, like the school
reputation”.
Head of the
Syndicate of Private School Owners
Munther Al-Sourani told
Jordan News that “last year, the percentage of transfer from private to public schools was
higher than usual”.
“According to
official figures from the Ministry of Education, more than 240,000 students
transferred from private to public schools. This has resulted in the drop of
operational capacities of private schools to more than half,” he said, adding
that, “as a result, some schools have suspended teaching and closed other
schools.”
“Expenses have
become a huge financial burden on a founder of a school, especially if he has
rented buildings whose prices range between JD40,000 and JD100,000, in addition
to the accumulation of teachers’ salaries and other costs, such as social
security fees and taxes, without feasible financial return,” he said.
Regarding the
scholastic year 2022–2023, Sourani said that indicators point to a “positive
and active year in the sector, albeit not at the same levels it used to be
prior to the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Firas
Nasserallah and Maram Abu Al-Shem, who are parents to four daughters (students
in elementary and high school grades) said that their decision to transfer
their daughters from private to public school came during the pandemic, when
learning was conducted online.
“Since all
learning was remote, we decided to reduce costs. The decision was truly
financially based.”
“We noticed that
the quality and seriousness of teachers in the public schools was even better.
We felt that teachers in the public school were really cooperative and
responsive,” the mother said, adding that “teachers communicated with parents
through WhatsApp groups and they follow up with us intensively.”
“We sense that the
teachers have a real interest in the quality of education our girls are
receiving, whereas in the private school, things were more lax,” she added.
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