The Minister of Education and Higher Education, Abbas Al-Halabi, expressed his concerns about the upcoming academic year, which is at risk, announcing that major challenges lie ahead during his presidency of the first meeting of the steering committee for the Multi-Year Resilience Program in the Educational Sector in Lebanon (MYRP) yesterday. Private schools and universities are moving towards collecting tuition fully or partially in US dollars, which heralds an inevitable educational catastrophe, especially with the continuous rise in fuel prices, as the price of a gasoline canister today reached 700,000 Lebanese pounds, and it is expected to continue its insane rise without a ceiling, placing a significant financial burden on educational institutions and parents, which they cannot withstand. The state, unable to secure the most basic rights of citizens, has put parents in confrontation with schools and universities, which were compelled to collect part of their fees in dollars to cover operational expenses, especially diesel, and to curb the migration of teachers who have the right to live with dignity, knowing they do not pay for their children's education, which alleviates a significant part of their expenses.
A quick arithmetic calculation regarding the tuition for the upcoming academic year and its cost to parents reveals that the tuition for a secondary student in a Catholic intermediate school now ranges between 10 and 15 million Lebanese pounds, in addition to the $550 to support the school fund, equivalent to 15 million pounds, and transportation costs ranging between 700,000 to 1 million pounds monthly for trips with “Autocar” at the current school year price, which varies depending on the distance from the school. This does not overlook the near-daily rise in the price of gasoline, which will inevitably increase transportation costs. The cost of transportation may equal or even exceed the tuition.
On top of that, other expenses are added, such as school uniforms, which most schools have resumed demanding after two years of overlooking, and books, especially those that follow the French or English systems where prices in dollars and euros are astronomical. The small sandwich now costs 4,000 pounds at bakeries, while a kilo of labneh is around 140,000 pounds, and the cost of cheese is significantly higher. Thus, the cost for a single student approaches 45 million pounds or more. How will parents, whether they are public or private sector employees with children attending these schools, manage to secure these amounts when their salaries range between 3 and 7 million Lebanese pounds, with some earning even less?
Education experts confirm that this situation poses a significant threat and jeopardizes society, especially concerning school dropout rates, which is an extremely serious issue that cannot be overlooked, particularly affecting the Christian community, where most of its children attend Catholic schools. These experts question where the Christian European countries that support Lebanon are, and where the Vatican stands on this issue. They speak of a loss of identity, but is there a greater threat to the entity and existence than what is happening in the private educational sector? How can all this money be found to pay tuition when parents are presented with the bitter option between hardship and even potentially selling their land or homes or even emigrating if there seems to be no way forward? And where is the state in all of this?
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Education Committee, former Minister Hassan Murad, confirmed to "Al-Markaziya" that "the committee will hold its first meeting next week to discuss all these matters, and we will attempt to assist students and parents in remaining resilient as much as possible, yet the condition of schools resembles that of the country as a whole. Nevertheless, we will work on the principle that those who want to build a homeland must build the coming generations of Lebanon. Therefore, we will focus on supporting this sector and seeking those who can stand by us to determine the future of this country through our generations to support teachers, public schools, the Lebanese University, and even part of the private schools that have started to collect fees in dollars. We must collectively find a solution and see what possibilities exist to assist parents without unfairly burdening these schools at the same time, especially given their high operational expenses. The income of these schools comes from parents who, in turn, have limited salaries. We are facing a complete and interconnected economic cycle amid a crisis affecting all of Lebanon."
Murad emphasizes that as an Education Committee, they will focus on preserving Lebanon and its resilience, which lies in supporting its upcoming generations, imposing duties on them to relieve this sector. "We have several ideas, and we must wait for them to materialize. The educational sector requires an extraordinary plan, and we will meet soon to devise an emergency plan to save education."
