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3. Back to School in Lebanon Is No Celebration, It’s a Struggle !

In Lebanon, the back-to-school season is no longer about fresh notebooks and new backpacks. Instead, it unfolds in the shadow of economic hardship and painful trade-offs. Families, overwhelmed by the ongoing financial crisis, are slashing their spending on school supplies, even as private schools continue to require new textbooks every year, often changing editions without warning.

The numbers are telling. In 2025, Lebanon’s school supplies and stationery market remains 25 to 30 percent below its 2022 levels. This drop highlights the continuing erosion of purchasing power, even in a sector many families consider essential to providing their children with education and stability.

“Parents who once bought two or three backpacks per child, choosing them to match school uniforms or bring joy, now settle for one,” says Ziad Bekdache, vice president of the Syndicate of Paper Industry Professionals, in an interview with Ici Beyrouth. He adds that notebook purchases have also been reduced to the bare minimum.

The commercial outlook is equally grim. Export markets are failing to compensate for domestic losses. Saudi Arabia, once a key buyer, remains closed to Lebanese products, costing the country at least $300 million in lost revenue. Morocco has imposed strict tariffs on all imported goods with local equivalents, especially school-related items, a move that violates the Arab Free Trade Agreement. Meanwhile, Europe is caught in economic slowdown, and shipments to Iraq remain unprofitable due to high transport costs, pending the reopening of the Al-Walid border crossing.

In Lebanon, back-to-school no longer signals a fresh start. It reflects a society that struggles to keep education at the center of its priorities, even at the cost of heavy sacrifices.