Salt Secondary School

Regarded as the mother of Jordanian schools, Salt Secondary School is closely linked to the establishment of the Jordanian state, playing a significant role in scientific and political life. It has produced thousands of leaders in various political, parliamentary, judicial, media, economic, and intellectual positions. The school was established in 1919, initially operating in houses of the city's residents, moving from Beit Al-Rahwan to Beit Al-Haj Abdullah Al-Dawood, then to Beit Rashid Al-Madfa'i, and later to Beit Fawzi Al-Nablusi. Eventually, this academic institution was built atop Jadour Hill, an archaeological site believed to be named after Jad, one of the sons of Prophet Jacob. It is located south of Old Salt, overlooking Wadi Al-Salt from the south, and at the eastern entrance of the city, surrounded by old and new neighborhoods.

King Abdullah I inaugurated the school building in 1923, consisting of 17 rooms for administration and teaching. The school commenced its academic years in 1924 with teaching staff from Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. The first graduating class in 1925 included four students: Ahmad Al-Zahir, Dawood Abdul Rahman Tuffaha, Abdul Rahim Al-Waked, and Ali Mohammad Abdullah Mismer. The second batch graduated in 1926 with three students.
The school's architectural style reflects Arab-Islamic architecture, evident in the precise division of wings and rooms and the detailed tile colorings.

The building of Salt Secondary School resembles those in Nablus due to the commercial and population integration between the two cities.

Students at the school were required to read the Quran, receive lessons in arithmetic and dictation, improve handwriting, learn ethics, singing, drawing, and, over time, engineering, algebra, surveying, history, geography, agriculture, physics, bookkeeping, handicrafts, as well as English language, music, cleanliness, and orderliness.

Throughout its history, the school has had several names, including Al-Sultaniya School (its first name), Al-Salt Al-Amiriya School, Al-Salt Preparatory School, Al-Harbi School, Al-Harbi School, Al-Tal School, and finally Salt Secondary School since 1938, affectionately known as "Mother of Schools" as termed by the late poet Husni Fariz, a graduate of its second batch and later a teacher and principal.

Salt Secondary School has been a pioneer in many areas, housing Jordan's first school library established in 1925, the first scout troop in 1923, and the first animal welfare association (Animal Protection Association) in 1926, formed by students. In 1938, it released its first school magazine, established a simple meteorological observatory, and uniquely, its image appeared on a Jordanian postage stamp issued in 1982.

Restoration and Archiving Project of Salt Secondary School Documents

Following Royal directives and commissioning by His Royal Highness Prince Ali bin Naif, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Jordanian Hashemite Documentation Center, the Center undertook a project to preserve the documents of Salt Secondary School. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Center and the Ministry of Education at the school, funded by the Center, with an estimated cost of around 200,000 Jordanian Dinars according to the Ministry's estimates. A specialized delegation from the Center, led by the General Director, conducted a comprehensive survey of all documents, records, and photos at the school, developing a plan for their treatment.

The plan included:

• Supplying the school with 60 specially imported boxes from London for document preservation from humidity.
• Receiving and restoring all 382 photos at the school, converting them to digital format.
• Preserving all documents in 92 folders at the school, totaling 7,591 documents.

The documents and photos underwent the following restoration and documentation stages:

• Conducting inventories for the folders.
• Sorting documents and photos to determine required work stages.
• Manually and mechanically cleaning and sterilizing documents.
• Manually restoring documents.
• Thermally reinforcing documents.
• Digitizing documents and photos.
• Replacing old files with new ones, adding the Center's logo.
• Supplying the school with new folders instead of damaged ones.
• Archiving documents and photos electronically.

The documents were handed over to His Excellency the Minister of Education, Dr. Taisir Al-Naimi, in a ceremony held at the school with official and public attendance.

It's worth mentioning that the second phase is underway, involving providing iron safes with specific specifications for storing documents in a specially designed room with carefully controlled temperature, humidity, and light conditions, after photographing them for public and researcher access in special display rooms equipped with modern electronic display and photocopying devices.