Students set the agenda for their own parliament

In Jordan, students can from now on choose their “deputies” and constitute a parliament within their schools: an initiative supported by the European Union. Promoting democratic values among students is a goal achieved with great success.

Sulafa Al Khatib - Amman, Eurojar.

The general scene resembles that of Jordanian parliamentary elections, with only one difference that the deputy elect could eventually head an Assembly constituted of student deputies. Their mission is to defend the ideas and demands of their friends and cooperate with a “government” represented by the school’s administration.

Becoming a member of parliament can be a complicated task that requires extended efforts. Haitham Tawalba decided to try his luck. For a whole week before the polling day, he organized a large electoral campaign with the help of his close senior friends in high school. His work at the school radio station facilitated his task as he already benefited from a large popularity among his fellow pupils. The student’s electoral program was not limited to the improvement of the educational environment, but focused too on a strong and efficient agenda. Participating in the meetings of the regional governorate, in the presence of the “mohafez” (governor), or other comities composed of real deputies, developed the sense of responsibility among those young members of parliament. With these new prerogatives, students were able to participate in the decision-making and development of projects related to the youth.

Haitham, president-elect of the students’ parliament at the department of education in the region of Beni Kenana - a sort of departmental parliament elected by different school parliaments in the region - states that “the project encouraged secondary school pupils to get involved in constructive and democratic projects in the society”.

From democracy to development
Why a student parliament has been created? Ziyad Alawneh, consultant and president of Land and Human to Advocate Progress (LHAP) explains: “Parliaments in schools operate the same way as the House of Representatives in the kingdom. Our organization (LHAP) launched this project in 2004 with the support of the European Union, with the aim of reinforcing the development process”. He added: “At the beginning, the initiative was executed in 5 schools located in Al-Badiya area, north-east of Jordan. Later, 150 schools, spread in 10 governorates out of 12 in the Kingdom, benefited from this innovative experience.”

This program allows students to obtain a sufficient share of parliamentary experience, and gives them the possibility of acting as deputies in the framework of their schools. Becoming a candidate for elections, preparing an electoral campaign, voting, protesting election results, or finally forming a parliament of 110 members with a president and comities… are a series of parliamentary practices that were introduced to the life of high schoolers.

Ziyad Alawneh goes on to say that workshops emphasizing on democracy and human rights were organized for the elected members of parliament and coordinators working in the educational field. These workshops aimed at developing a democratic behavior and sense of citizenship among the participants to help them acquire a better way to communicate with the society.

A global experience
Proof of its success, this student parliament initiative was institutionalized by the Ministry of Education of Jordan. In the same way, the Land and Human to Advocate Progress (LHAP) organization, in cooperation with the Damia Center for Parliamentary studies and with the support of the European Commission, launched in 2007 a study to evaluate the project. This study was named: “The role of student parliament in democracy and human rights sensitization”. Fawaz Jardat, Head of the Educational Research Division at the Ministry of Education of Jordan, says that “the election of student parliament has been applied so far in 370 schools, at a rate of 10 schools in each directorate, divided equally between boy and girl schools.

“This experience had major positive effect on the development of the capacities of students in the areas of dialogue and tolerance. It also promoted the concept of voluntary participation in group work. This is why the Ministry decided to implement this project in all the schools of the Hashemite Kingdom”, added Jardat.

Information Officer at the EC delegation in Amman, Suhair Muhye al Deen explains that “the financial contribution of the EC was raised to 100,000 Euros, mainly consecrated to underprivileged areas. The province of Toufaila for instance, located at 170 km from the capital city Amman, recently benefitted from this help”. She adds: “It is very important to inculcate the sense of civil rights in students, to accelerate the development of underprivileged areas, to reinforce the capacities of teachers and students and to promote democratic dialogue.” Muhye al Deen stresses that “the project encouraged freedom of expression at the level of younger generation, and created an atmosphere of dialogue between students, school administration and local government.”

Self-confidence and freedom of expression
Member of regional parliament, Ounoud El Chakrein affirms: “Thanks to the parliament student experience, I became an active member of the Jordanian society, capable of defending ideas in which we, as young generation, believe in. This is why, when meeting with the deputies of the area, Ounoud did not hesitate to interrogate them, in a firm and loud voice, about the work of the Jordanian parliament: “I submitted a list of requirements for the region. I have ambitions that can only be realized through constructive and arduous work and efforts.” El-Chakrein to conclude: “The popularity that I will acquire through my work at the student parliament will lead me one day to the House of Representatives. This is why I will persevere with the activities that serve public interest.”

Khouzouma El-Zouhbi equally considers her experience as crucial. She considers herself today capable of openly addressing the governor of the area and other high-ranked officials on subjects of public or youth interest. “The more I participated in projects in the public field, the more I acquired a strong capacity of dialogue and interaction. Then, I became an active member and participated in decision-making in my own family”, explains El-Zouhbi.

Students elected in the parliament have the duty to transmit to their colleagues all the knowledge that they acquire during the training sessions that they participate in. Student Raad al Aouran decided to publish this knowledge on the walls of his school. He also does not spare any chance of participating in competitions of poetry composition or article editing, generally conceived to develop the creativity of students. These students are offered the chance to participate as well in the preparation and realization of the journal published by the LHAP organization.

Finally, parents of students are satisfied the most. Aicha El-Yahya, program coordinator, highlights that “parents are closely following the activities of their children. They encourage them to volunteer and to get involved in public activities. They are so proud of seeing their children publicly expressing themselves in a relaxed and confident way.”

N.B: Text translated from Arabic by Eurojar team