The crisis sparked in educational circles by the adoption of two laws amending certain regulations, particularly related to school budgets and their contribution to the Compensation Fund, seems to be on the path to resolution. A subcommittee has been formed for this purpose, as Catholic schools remain on strike.
Caretaker Minister of Education Abbas Halabi chaired a meeting on Thursday with the committee that had participated in the meeting held on Wednesday in Bkerke.
The meeting was attended by two members of the parliamentary Education Committee, MPs Salim Sayegh and Edgar Traboulsi, Director General of Education Imad al-Achkar and the Secretary-General of Catholic schools, Father Youssef Nasr.
The participants discussed the ideas put forward in Bkerke. They agreed to ensure a decent life for teachers, whether permanent, contracted or retirees, as guaranteed by the two laws. However, these two texts are contested by schools due to the financial burdens they impose in a crisis context. The participants also emphasized the importance of schools continuing their mission without burdening families with additional expenses and affirmed that the two laws would come into effect. Efforts are currently focused on developing a coherent implementation mechanism.
Catholic schools initiated an open strike on Thursday, December 21, in protest against the two laws passed in Parliament on December 15. These laws modify certain regulations governing educational authority in private schools and the management of school budgets.
After examining various viewpoints and their repercussions, the participants agreed to form a subcommittee consisting of the Director General of Education, Imad al-Achkar, the legal advisor of the Ministry of Education, Judge Samih Maddah, and the director of the Compensation Fund, Georges Sacre. The subcommittee aims to develop a mechanism to implement the two laws that specifically preserves the rights of retired school staff. The latter must benefit from approved or future increases in pensions for retired educational personnel. The subcommittee is tasked with ensuring that additional financial burdens are not imposed on parents of students and that the necessary revenues will be provided to the Compensation Fund for private school teachers to implement the decided pension increases without affecting currently active teachers.
