The Education and Higher Education Committee held a session chaired by MP Hassan Mourad, with the presence of Minister of Education and Higher Education in the caretaker government Abbas Halabi, member MPs, and the General Director of Education Imad Al-Ashqar. Mourad stated after the session: "The Education Committee held its session today, where we reviewed the progress of the official examinations and the mechanisms in place, as well as what is being circulated in the media." He pointed out that “after in-depth educational discussions and listening to all observations and ideas, the committee unanimously called to remove the discussions taking place in the media about the approach to official examinations from the narrow political framework and its negative effects on education, aiming to preserve its educational nature that concerns all Lebanese students, not just a specific region. The educational reality this year is exceptional due to the unjust Zionist aggression on the south, western Bekaa, Baalbek, and other areas, as well as its social, psychological, and health impacts on both teachers and students.”
He continued: "The committee arrived at recommendations that we present to the Minister of Education, who has the final decision regarding the examinations:
- Conduct unified examinations across all Lebanese territories based on the principle of equality among Lebanese citizens stipulated in the preamble of the constitution.
- Consider the precarious security and military situation in the south and its psychological and social implications on students in the south and Bekaa, accounting for schools and educational institutions near the confrontation lines that have adopted unsuccessful remote learning during these difficult circumstances.
- Adopt elective subjects or gradually revert from them while maintaining the quality of certificates and education in Lebanon, considering the exceptional circumstances of the educational reality since 2019.
- Cancel the unified examinations for the ninth grade due to logistical challenges in their implementation."
For his part, the Minister of Education said: “The ministry presented some ideas which were discussed, and we listened to the opinions and recommendations that emerged from the committee. I assure you that we will take all these discussions and recommendations into consideration, and we will continue our round of consultations with all members of the educational community, and the Ministry of Education will have a position that clarifies everything related to the official examinations.” He called for "moving beyond this discussion in the media and politics."
