Caretaker Minister of Education Abbas Halabi expressed optimism that the strike by private school teachers will likely be prevented.
"I'm waiting until Monday to finalize the agreement (on retirement pensions) reached last Tuesday at the Ministry between the union of private educational establishments and the teachers' union," he said at the end of a meeting held on Saturday in Ain el-Tineh with the Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri.
The agreement should have been signed on Thursday, but the union of private education establishments failed to show up, requesting a two-day extension to complete its study. Under the terms of the agreement, "private educational institutions are committed to paying at least 60 billion Lebanese pounds per month into the compensation fund, to cover the payment of retirement pensions."
The teachers' union granted the private schools additional time to sign the agreement. This expires on Monday evening. If said agreement is not signed, private school teachers will go on open strike from Tuesday morning.
"The signing of the agreement has been postponed from Thursday to Monday to allow the private schools to continue negotiations, especially since one party can't speak on behalf of all the others," explained Halabi.
Also on the agenda of today's meeting were the repercussions of the hostilities in South Lebanon on the region's educational establishments. In this regard, the Caretaker Minister of Education announced that he would be touring these regions on Tuesday "to assess the situation on the ground." Meetings with school principals and educational managers in the area are also planned. Halabi will hand them the electronic equipment that should enable teachers and students to continue education at a distance.
Asked about postponing the official exams, the Caretaker Minister of Education asserted that "no decision has yet been taken on this subject." He denied having mentioned the possibility of canceling the exams. "We are currently working on revamping and renewing the curricula," he said.
Halabi and Berri also raised the question of the funds allocated to the Ministry of Education and the issue of the Lebanese University.
"I'm waiting until Monday to finalize the agreement (on retirement pensions) reached last Tuesday at the Ministry between the union of private educational establishments and the teachers' union," he said at the end of a meeting held on Saturday in Ain el-Tineh with the Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri.
The agreement should have been signed on Thursday, but the union of private education establishments failed to show up, requesting a two-day extension to complete its study. Under the terms of the agreement, "private educational institutions are committed to paying at least 60 billion Lebanese pounds per month into the compensation fund, to cover the payment of retirement pensions."
The teachers' union granted the private schools additional time to sign the agreement. This expires on Monday evening. If said agreement is not signed, private school teachers will go on open strike from Tuesday morning.
"The signing of the agreement has been postponed from Thursday to Monday to allow the private schools to continue negotiations, especially since one party can't speak on behalf of all the others," explained Halabi.
Also on the agenda of today's meeting were the repercussions of the hostilities in South Lebanon on the region's educational establishments. In this regard, the Caretaker Minister of Education announced that he would be touring these regions on Tuesday "to assess the situation on the ground." Meetings with school principals and educational managers in the area are also planned. Halabi will hand them the electronic equipment that should enable teachers and students to continue education at a distance.
Asked about postponing the official exams, the Caretaker Minister of Education asserted that "no decision has yet been taken on this subject." He denied having mentioned the possibility of canceling the exams. "We are currently working on revamping and renewing the curricula," he said.
Halabi and Berri also raised the question of the funds allocated to the Ministry of Education and the issue of the Lebanese University.
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