Jordanian burns 'useless' PhD certificate in protest at lack of jobs

A Jordanian national set fire to his PhD certificate in front of the Prime Ministry building in Amman on Wednesday to protest a lack of jobs in the country.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

23 May, 2019

Jordan's labour market continues to face significant vulnerabilities. [Getty]

A Jordanian national set fire to his PhD certificate in front of the Prime Ministry building in the capital Amman on Wednesday to protest a lack of jobs in the country.

A YouTube video of the incident, which has been shared widely on social media, showed Salameh Al-Momani holding his certificate as it burns to ashes.

Al-Momani, who holds a PhD in accounting and has 15 years of professional experience, said that he was burning his certificate because it is "useless."

The disgruntled academic's protest was in reaction to a job advertisement, posted by the university from which he graduated, asking for PhD students who graduated from foreign universities, he said.

Jordan's labor market continues to face significant vulnerabilities, with an unemployment rate of around 18 percent in November 2018.

A report released by the government last month stated that 15.7 per cent of people in Jordan, or about one million citizens, live in poverty, with households earning approximately $350 per month or less.