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Ammon News - By Alaa Elayyan

AMMONNEWS - The Jordanian Teachers' Association (JTA) stressed that it will continue in its general strike on Monday in protest of the government's economic policies.

JTA had called on teachers throughout the kingdom to go on strike and suspend classes on Sunday, and called for continuing the general strike on Monday for the second consecutive day.

JTA board member Mustafa Hneifat told Ammon News that the teachers' syndicate decided to participate in the demonstration on Monday called for by the Jordanian Professional Associations.

In regard to continuing the strike, Hneifat said that the protest is in reaction to the government insistence on its recent decision to lift subsidies on oil derivatives, which caused a major hike n prices.

"The strike comes to pressure the government to rescind its decision, and there may be other escalation measures," Hneifat told Ammon News.

JTA's decision to continue the strike comes amid rejection from some parents and national figures, to which Hneifat responded "this is part of a campaign to mobilize people against the strike, it happens in every strike, we are used to such voices, but we insist on standing on the side of the people."

70 percent of public schools for males, and 65 percent of female schools took part in the strike on Sunday, JTA spokesman Ayman Okoor told Ammon News.

Okoor noted that the southern governorate of Ma'an registered the highest percentage of schools that went on strike on Sunday, reaching 90 percent of the governorate's public schools.

Mafraq and Zarqa governorates registered the lowest percentages of schools that went on strike, Okoor said.

The spokesman added that JTA will file a law suit against the Public Security Department (PSD) for arresting teachers that took part in the latest protests that erupted throughout the kingdom.

6 teachers were among the over 100 protesters arrested last week during the wave of protests in the kingdom, JTA president Mufatafa Rawashdeh had said on Saturday during a press conference.