A statement was issued by the heads of administrative units in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education - the General Directorate of Education - the General Directorate of Vocational Education and the General Directorate of Higher Education: After conducting the official exams for the intermediate certificate and the general secondary certificate in its four branches, as well as vocational and technical education certifications at all levels for the 2022 academic year, employees and teachers in various titles and job positions within the Ministry of Education and Higher Education are convinced of the students’ right who have completed a difficult and challenging academic year under the circumstances that our beloved country is experiencing.
Despite all the difficulties faced by employees and teachers, including their inability to reach their workplaces due to the continuous rise in fuel prices and transport costs, insufficient wages, delays in the payment of transportation allowances and social grants that have been pending for months, in addition to suffering humiliation and insults in front of banks while withdrawing their meager salaries that they can only access in batches, which are not enough to feed their children and meet their needs for only a few days, as well as securing essential living supplies such as medicine, healthcare, and bread, it is impossible for them to continue living under these unprecedented poor conditions. Consequently, they are unable to attend their workplaces.
However, despite these circumstances, the employees of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education have not refrained from reporting to their offices and examination correction centers and have completed the exams and published their results, driven by their sense of national duty toward the students and their families and the homeland, despite the open strike called by the Association of Public Administration Employees which all ministries and public institutions committed to.
The heads of the administrative units and employees of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, across all its general directorates, commend the sincere efforts and initiatives of Minister of Education and Higher Education, Judge Abbas Halabi, to address the difficult circumstances faced by employees, teachers, and professors, and his determination to complete the academic year, particularly his initiative to secure incentives from international donors, even though these are minimal and insufficient for accessing workplaces.
Therefore, we find ourselves compelled today, after completing the national obligation of the official exams and announcing their results, in light of the worsening crisis with no attention to addressing it by decision-makers in the Lebanese state, to engage in the open strike previously announced and adhered to by the Association of Public Administration Employees in all ministries. We announce the cessation of attendance at workplaces starting from Monday, July 25, 2022, hoping that our voice will rise again and reach those who must listen, and to those who, based on their responsibilities and national duties, must immediately take action to save the public sector and preserve its employees, rather than annihilating and destroying it.
In conclusion, we hope that citizens, students, and their families understand the suffering experienced by employees of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, who have never hesitated in their service, hoping for a better tomorrow for all, which allows us to return to our work after securing our rights, even at their minimum, so that we can live with dignity.
