The education system, which Nelson Mandela described as “the most important weapon that can be used to change the world,” is in jeopardy in Lebanon.
The economic crisis and the coronavirus, which have simultaneously hit the country, have created numerous critical gaps in the education sector.
While public schools bear the brunt, private schools, especially the semi-private academies located in rural areas, find themselves under significant threat.
This gap in the education system has resulted in financial strain and a learning loss.
As part of “Les Rencontres d’Ici Beyrouth,” Michel Touma, the managing editor of Ici Beyrouth, addressed these losses with the Secretary-General of Catholic Schools, Father Youssef Nasr, and Hanadi Attieh, the Vice President of the Teachers’ Committee at Carmel-Saint Joseph school.
According to these two experts, the financial strain is exemplified by the failure of schools to raise the salaries of teachers, who are still earning the same salary — an average of 2,500,000 LBP per month — at a time when the currency has lost almost 90% of its essential value.
A meager compensation in USD is being offered to teachers as incentives, but it will not be included in their retirement benefits, and they will only obtain 80% of their gross monthly salary in LBP, with five million LBP as the ceiling.
According to Hanadi Attieh, “many teachers are questioning the wisdom of depositing 6% of their monthly salary into the indemnity fund if it won’t ultimately benefit them.”
In addition, the low salaries have caused an exodus of 20% of teachers from private schools.
This exodus has caused what Father Nasr qualified as a “learning loss” because the teachers who left the schools were “the most qualified.”
Losing qualified teachers created a learning gap, as schools are often forced to hire inexperienced teachers who are left to their own devices since academies cannot afford to offer them training. This, in turn, threatens the quality of education at private schools.
Furthermore, Father Nasr highlighted the struggles of the Lebanese people to pay the tuition fees, which have tripled since last year. According to him, “around 20-30% of students cannot afford the tuition and are below the poverty line.” He foresaw that many students “will not be returning to school this year.”
Moreover, Father Nasr emphasized the outdatedness of the current Lebanese curriculum, especially given the latest technological advancements.
He stated that “a new curriculum is expected to be adopted in the year 2025-2026 if the file isn’t dropped after the appointment of a new Minister of Education.”
