At the end of Monday’s meeting of the parliamentary education committee, MP Antoine Habchi praised the considerable efforts made by the committee and by the caretaker Minister of Education Abbas Halabi to organize the official Brevet exams and secure the necessary funds, adding that he did not understand the “irrational decision” of the Cabinet to cancel them.
Habchi stated that the cancellation should be made after a complete study of the assessment system and reform of the entire curriculum, as it has negative repercussions on several levels.
The Lebanese Forces MP added that the Brevet remains an essential criterion for some public administration recruitments. Consequently, the absence of official exams could lead to hiring people who don’t have the minimum requirements (because without exams, all candidates will pass).
Within the same context, Halabi declared on Monday that he was working on alternative options available to make up for the absence of official Brevet exams.
Habchi went on to say that the real solution would be to postpone granting certificates of achievement to free candidates until new official exams are organized to maintain the standard of this diploma. “The responsibility lies upon the schools’ shoulders, and the Ministry of Education should not assume this responsibility by issuing [undeserved] certificates of achievement.”
Halabi, for his part, added on Monday that the Baccalaureate exams would be held on the dates originally scheduled. He also indicated that the ministry was in contact with private schools regarding tuition fees for the coming school year, forbidding any school from expelling a student who had not paid his or her tuition fees in fresh dollars.
