With the beginning of September, educational associations returned to the streets coinciding with Minister of Education Abbas Al-Halabi's call for teachers to be "realistic, as the state treasury cannot bear large increases," and his promises to "achieve the minimum standard of decent living for teachers," along with his plea for "all pessimists not to incite against the school year," and for the media to "encourage teachers to return to schools." At first glance, the minister's words suggest that teachers need psychological support and personal development courses to fulfill their duties, rather than a salary that shields them from poverty! The vocabulary used with teachers does not change with new administrations and ministers; it begins with "we hope" and "we wish," ending with three words: "holding teachers responsible." The negligence of officials regarding educational issues continues. After the conference held in the Ministry of Education on August 10, where associations defined their demands as a trio of "salary correction, transportation allowance increase, and support for employee cooperatives," communication between the associations and official bodies ceased, except for a "meeting with the caretaker Prime Minister in the presence of the Minister of Education," according to sources from the associations, during which the call to "triple the salary, provide seven liters of gasoline per workday, and healthcare support" was reiterated. The Prime Minister requested 10 days to respond to the demands, yet "20 days have passed and we have heard nothing from him." The sources added that there is a meeting between the associations and donor countries at the Ministry of Education next Monday, expressing concern over the idea of "linking assistance for teachers to accepting the integration of Syrian refugees' education during morning hours in schools and high schools."
Yesterday, protests took place in the regions, which were hoped to be a stark expression of the pain felt by teachers (in all their forms), and despite a call from all educational associations (secondary, primary, and vocational), the turnout remained dismally low, repeating the scene of all protests from the past two years. The numbers did not exceed fifty people at best, and as expressed by a teacher from Baalbek: "We counted pedestrians on the sidewalks with those present to inflate the numbers." The meager attendance reflected across regions from north to south. In the Baabda area, which comprises more than a third of the representatives of the Secondary Education Association, the "gathering" of protestors did not surpass the entrance of the educational area building. Member of the administrative body in the Basic Education Association, Manal Hadifa, attributed this to the high transportation costs, saying, "The cost of traveling from Shouf to Baabda reached 800,000 Lira." All statements emphasized the "three demands of the educational associations," asserting that without meeting these demands, "the school year will not commence."
As for the dissenters who did not participate in the protests, they argued that "any movement without the framework of general assemblies is futile," emphasizing that "we will not be fodder for the associations that operate their administrative bodies independently of the base, deciding on strikes and then retracting them without consulting anyone."
