Minister of Education and Higher Education Judge Abbas Halabi visited secondary schools in the northeastern villages of Baalbek to assess their conditions, the educational process, official examinations, and the conclusion of the academic year. He was accompanied by the Director General of Education Imad Ashkar, Director General of Secondary Education Khaled Fayad, Director of Guidance and Orientation Hilda Khoury, Head of the Cultural Affairs Department and Director of Inclusive Education Sonia Khoury, Head of the Basic Education Department Hadi Zalzali, Head of the Examinations Department Amal Shaaban, Head of the Educational Region in Baalbek El Hermel Hussein Abd Al-Sater, and Media Advisor Albert Shammoun.
The first stop was at the Al-Ain Official Secondary School, where Halabi visited the Al-Jadida Official Intermediate School, Al-Fakha Secondary School, and Al-Raas Baalbek Intermediate and Secondary School, where he was welcomed by school directors, teaching staff, mayors, and local dignitaries.
The Minister emphasized the "priority of paying transportation allowances and social grants for teachers working in the payroll, and on ensuring the transportation allowances for contract teachers, without delaying the fees of those who have not received their payments." He confirmed that the "social grants will be disbursed soon, while transportation allowances will be delayed pending the approval of the budget."
He called on the parliament, at the beginning of its tenure, to "work towards the promulgation of a specific law for the educational authority in the parliament to ensure that rights reach their owners in order to enable them to endure."
Regarding other demands, he stated: "They will be taken into consideration within the available capabilities, and we hope to be able to provide something for Al-Fakha, Al-Jadida, Al-Ain, and all the areas we will visit in northern Bekaa and Hermel."
He affirmed the role of the official school as a "source of pride for education in the area due to the interaction of the environment and the community with the students, who represent the present and future of the country."
He said: "Official examinations will consider the situation of students in official schools and their struggles regarding the social situation and the resulting burdens, notably the transportation issue. This motivates us to work to secure the requirements for the upcoming year to compensate for what was missed in the past two years."
He added: "I have always contemplated which is more appropriate: a minister who stays in his office or one who goes out among the people to listen to them. I chose the latter, to be with you, to listen, observe, and strive for improvement. Many officials are following our lead. There is a significant gap between what is happening on the ground and what the elites are thinking, and a large difference between reality and what is conveyed. We came to see on the ground at the Al-Raas Baalbek Secondary School, which you named the 'Shared Living Secondary School,' a model that every school should emulate."
He concluded: "The Ministry of Education alone decides the start and end of the academic year, and not everyone involved in social media can determine the end of the academic year. I inform you that we have established new correction centers in the region to avoid burdening the correctors, examination committees, and heads of committees with travel, while considering the status of students and teachers so that they are near their residences."
