MP Ibrahim Al-Baddour said that the Ministry of Education managed to convince Jordanian private schools to take out school textbooks from the agreement made between the schools and the parents.

This came during a committee meeting on Sunday to discuss complaints of private schools withholding textbooks and marks sheets from students until the parents pay the tuition fees incurred.

Baddour stressed that the interests of students is a priority and a line that should not be crossed, and above all should not be involved in any financial disputes that incur between the school and the guardians. He called on all parties to create an appropriate educational environment for the students and always to provide them with their needs, keeping them away from negative situations and never hindering their receivement of knowledge.

MP Baddour explained that after a long discussion between the parties, it was agreed that books should be taken out of the contract signed between private schools and the parents, and for books fees to be paid in advance and before the semester or to be purchased from the dedicated book centers.

He stressed the need for a committee to deal with standard and foreign books to determine the prices, and oblige all private schools to follow the price list. Baddour called on the Ministry of Education to take on this matter and to distribute the information.

Deputies Huda al-Atoum, Safaa al-Momani, Hassan al-Saud and Ibtisam al-Nawafala that there must be a clear vision from the beginning to maintain the relationship between the Ministry and the private schools in the Kingdom so that the student does not fall victim to any disputes that may arise, adding that the contract between the parties must be clear in terms of conditions and in the guarantees which the school deems suitable.

They suggested that the Ministry provide basic textbooks to private school students free of charge as those schools have eased the Ministry’s burden by absorbing nearly 25 percent of the students in Jordan.