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South Lebanon students, on Thursday, protested in front of the Ministry of Education against holding the official exams, as caretaker Minister of Education Abbas Halabi is expected to make an announcement about the fate of the exams this evening.
The protesters accused Halabi of disregarding the violence that has been gripping South Lebanon since October 8, depriving students there of proper education and forcing the displacement of a large number of them.
They stressed that the war, initiated by Hezbollah in its so-called “support front” for Gaza, started on the eve of the beginning of the school year. Scores of families have since been displaced from the southern villages due to intense Israeli bombardments.
Addressing the protesters, a student representative said that “those who stayed in their villages had their school year continuously disrupted by heavy Israeli artillery shelling and drone attacks.”
In a country where postponement, vacancy and extension of deadlines has been a common feature since the end of the last presidential term on October 31, 2022, Halabi appears to be swimming against the tide.
Following a meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Halabi had announced that Lebanese official exams will take place next June 29, confirming earlier statements to An-Nahar newspaper.
The dates for the baccalaureate exams were set for June 29, July 1, 2, 4 and 5, 2024, whereas the brevet exams were canceled.
Informed sources close to Halabi told This Is Beirut that “the exams will take place on time as the minister previously said, and all necessary preparations have been made.”
Halabi also declared that he was “looking for safer areas to allow South Lebanon students to sit for their exams safely.”
In this context, the Director General of Vocational and Technical Education, Hanadi Berri, issued a circular allowing students in the South and Nabatieh governorates to enroll in exam centers other than the ones to which they were assigned.
Amidst uncertainty about the fate of the official exams, school administrations and teachers are living in limbo.
“Every day we wake up to different rumors circulating on WhatsApp or fake statements claiming that the exams have been canceled and students will be granted certificates,” said a school principal in Zahle who spoke to This Is Beirut on condition of anonymity.
“Teachers are frustrated and their work is being affected… I wonder how hard it is on students,” the principal added.
“The government postponed municipal elections because the Parliament Speaker refused to separate the South from Lebanon, this should be the case also for official baccalaureate exams… imagine giving students who live in the South certificates, while holding the exams normally in other regions. This is nonsense,” the principal contended.
Until further notice, the government is still keen and insisting on holding official exams according to schedule, but uncertainty still prevails over their fate.
