Jordan Times
Sunday, November 22, 1998
Ministry, council reach agreement on Christian education classes
AMMAN — The Ministry of Education has reached an agreement with the Council of Christian Bishops in the Kingdom to offer Christian education classes beginning in December.
Father Hanna Jallouf from Terra Sancta College, the coordinator of the council's educational relations with the ministry, told the Jordan Times that Christian students in government schools will be required to attend Christian education classes in their own districts once a week at private schools. The districts include Salt, Fuheis, Irbid, Huson, Karak, Ajloun and Madaba, he added.
Each class will last 45 minutes, and students must attend three classes a week, according to Jallouf, who noted that religious education will be compulsory for all Christian students.
The Christian education plan is a trial and will be introduced to all districts, including Amman, if it proves successful, said Jallouf.
A decision to offer religious education to Christian students in government schools, which now offer only Islamic education, was taken by the government almost two years ago but implementation was delayed due to technicalities, he added.
Jallouf said the Council of Bishops, whose members represent the various Christian communities in Jordan, decided to teach a Christian curriculum similar to the Syrian model since no appropriate educational books are currently available. The books will be distributed free of charge, he said.
The council has recruited a number of qualified Christian instructors to teach from the third grade to the secondary level, but the teachers will be paid by the Ministry of Education, said Jallouf.
Noting that there are an estimated 3,000 Christian students in government schools, Jallouf said the council has provided the ministry with the names of the selected teachers and the schools at which classes will be held.
Jallouf said he expected that a Jordanian syllabus would be ready in two years, adding that a special committee has been created to prepare the educational programme.