Many companies keep track of their employees’ time and attendance by using fingerprint scanners.

Ibrahim Shabaneh, Vice President of the Jordanian Teachers Syndicate, said on Tuesday that negotiations with the Ministry of Education regarding adding the technology in state schools is still ongoing.

The VP added that the Syndicate is likely to reach an agreement with the Ministry in the next few days.

Until then, he has urged teachers to stick to their assigned working hours, and to abide by the number of annual leaves they’re entitled to, until an announcement has been made detailing the Syndicate’s agreement with the Ministry.

Many teachers were against the idea of having their attendance monitored by the Ministry.

However, the Minister of Education, Omar Razzaz, said last month that “some schools finish their day very early, by 10 a.m., which wastes valuable time that students could be using for learning.”

Razzaz added that this “wasted time” will prevent students from competing against their peers from other state schools across the kingdom.

The Minister further explained that the fingerprint scanners merely keep track of teachers’ attendance, not their work ethic or the way they manage their classes.