Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Members of the Executive Office of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood considered the statements given by Minister of Education Ibrahim Badran on Sunday as a "grave insult to teachers and the education profession" and called on the government to apologize to the public and dismiss the minister.

Minister of Education Ibrahim Badran had called on teachers in a statement reported by Al Arab Al Yawm newspaper to "shave their chins and take care of their dress appearance first instead of complaining and calling for establishing a teachers' union."

Member of the Muslim Brotherhood's Executive office, Mamdouh Muhaisen, considered the minister's statement "an insult to all Jordanians," and noted that teachers have every right to have their own professional association that would safeguard their rights.

Muhaisen stressed that the Islamist movement stands by the Kingdom's teachers, whose conditions "have reached miserable levels and are suffering great injustices," according to his expression.

Muhaisen condemned the decision to deprive tens of thousands of teachers of their right to establish a professional association to safeguard their rights, and rejected the justification used by the minister that "the association would be vulnerable to political polarization."

The Islamist movement questioned the government and the Ministry of Education regarding the rights of teachers, "who are suffering from social and financial difficulties," and noted that the government has suspended the teachers' meager yearly bonus of 5 percent.

Muhaisen warned against the deterioration of education in Jordan, noting that the three main elements of education: teachers, students, and curriculum are all lacking in basic foundations and warn of an education 'catastrophe' whose price will be paid by later generations, he said.

The Minister of Education had denied earlier on Monday to 'Ammon News' that he directed teachers to improve their appearance and dress, and noted that the statement reported in media outlets was "taken out of context."

The Minister's statements stirred great controversy among teachers and the public throughout the Kingdom.

'Ammon News' received a large number of electronic messages and phone calls on Monday from teachers in Kerak governorate in Southern Jordan expressing their determination to suspend teaching for the first two class periods Tuesday morning in protest of the Minister's statements, which they considered "offensive" and called on the Minister to resign, noting that they did not find the justification he gave to 'Ammon News' on Monday adequate or reasonable.

It is noted that the base of teachers participating in the protest has increased substantially Monday evening as more schools throughout Kerak governorates have joined in.

In Ma'an, also in Southern Jordan, teachers from the Ma'an School District and the Southern Badia School District have also announced suspending classes, as over 90 teachers from the governorate sent 'Ammon News' a notice of their protest against the Minister's statement as of Tuesday morning.

Ayman Saqallah, a teacher in Ma'an told Ammon correspondent there that classes will be suspended after the morning lineup until the Minister of Education offers an official and public apology for his 'offensive' statement.