The Minister of Education and Higher Education in the caretaker government, Dr. Abbas Halabi, issued a decision concerning the commencement of registration and the start of the 2022/2023 school year in official schools designated for teaching non-Lebanese students during the afternoon shift. The decision states: "The Minister of Education and Higher Education, based on Decree No. 8376 dated 10/9/2021 (formation of the government), based on Decree No. 2869 dated 16/12/1959 (regulation of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education), based on Decision No. 1130/M/2001 dated 10/9/2001 (internal system for official kindergartens and primary education schools), based on Decision No. 46 dated 24/6/2022 (commencement of the school year in official and private schools for the 2022/2023 academic year), based on the experience adopted during previous academic years to provide educational opportunities for non-Lebanese students, especially among the Syrian refugees, in official school buildings during the afternoon shift, based on the proposal of the Director General of Education, decides the following:
**Article One**: The General Directorate of Education, through its official schools dedicated to teaching non-Lebanese students, will continue to provide educational services for non-Lebanese students, including those coming from Syria, during the afternoon shift for the 2022/2023 academic year.
**Article Two**: Registration activities in official schools and secondary schools designated for teaching students during the afternoon period start from 05/10/2022 to 25/10/2022. These activities will be handled by the school or secondary school principal and one supervisor. If the number of students exceeds 300, two supervisors will be assigned; if the school is conducting afternoon teaching for the first time, registration will occur in the presence of the school manager and one supervisor. If the number of registered students exceeds 300, the concerned educational district can be contacted for additional supervision assistance as per the regulations. Teaching activities will gradually commence starting from 17/10/2022 for ninth-grade students, on 18/10/2022 for seventh and eighth-grade students of the third cycle, on 19/10/2022 for first and second cycle students, and on 20/10/2022 for preparatory kindergarten students, in accordance with the issued instructions for official schools during morning sessions.
**Article Three**: The school/secondary school designated for afternoon shifts must, under penalty of responsibility, from the beginning of the school year, enter all information related to registered students using the SIMS/NSL program exclusively. This includes data related to the staff (principal, supervisor, teachers, health coordinators, educational guides, volunteers for preparatory kindergarten, volunteers representing parents, IT managers, and custodians).
**Article Four**: The principal of the school/secondary school is responsible for any fraudulent registration of students and must monitor their attendance; he must immediately and in writing inform the concerned educational district of any unexplained absence or dropout exceeding ten days for any student. The educational district will then report these cases to the Ministry of Primary or Secondary Education as appropriate. The principal is also prohibited from intervening in transportation arrangements for students to and from school.
**Article Five**: The official schools and secondary schools designated for afternoon shifts will apply the Lebanese curriculum and thus adopt the national textbooks, which include materials in Arabic, foreign languages, mathematics, and sciences (conditional on the acceptance of these subjects' books in foreign languages for first and second cycle classes), national education and civic upbringing (with additions from the Center for Educational Research and Development starting from the 2019/2020 academic year), geography, and history. Preparatory kindergarten textbooks are distributed as in each academic year directly to the relevant schools, based on the number of students in each, through UNICEF.
**Article Six**: Educational districts, the Directorate of Primary Education, and the Directorate of Secondary Education will follow up on all matters related to non-Lebanese students attending official schools, and will seek to secure study places for them in schools and secondary schools designated for the afternoon shift, according to their residential areas and the capacity of these schools.
**Article Seven**: New students with authenticated certificates proving their enrollment and success in the intensive education program, as well as authenticated school certificates proving their studies during the 2020/2021 or 2021/2022 academic years in a Lebanese school, whether public or private, will be accepted. New arriving students from countries experiencing displacement crises will also be accepted if authenticated school certificates are unavailable, upon providing grade reports confirming their regular attendance for all grades except for the eighth and ninth grades of the third cycle, for which students must obtain equivalency. A qualifying exam will be organized in Arabic and science subjects if necessary for those coming from formal education schools, to determine their qualifications and possible educational levels, or to redirect them to non-formal education programs.
**Article Eight**: To enroll any student in any of the afternoon shift grades, they must present any official document proving their identity. For preparatory kindergarten and first cycle students, both old students and new arrivals must present a birth certificate recorded in civil registration, intending to encourage parents to register births that occurred in Lebanon. Not presenting this document will not prevent them from joining school. For enrollment in the first primary grade, students must be six years old by 31/1/2023; those who exceed this age and are up to nine years old will be accepted. In contrast, a child must have completed five years before 14/9/2022 and not exceeded six and a half years, and a child over that age may also be accepted if unable to follow the first primary grade based on their academic qualifications gained through recognized early childhood programs which include: "kindergarten - official or private education in the morning shift with a certificate from the educational district. "Preparatory kindergarten - official education in the afternoon shift designated for non-Lebanese students as per the official certificate in this regard. "Early Childhood Education program in host community centers outside official school buildings (CB-ECE) as per the official certificate from the concerned units in the General Directorate of Education.
Regarding the re-enrollment of students who studied during the 2021/2022 academic year, they must present the approved unified promotion certificate for the afternoon shift after ratification from the relevant educational district, without considering any other model.
In addition to the documents stipulated in this decision, the following documents must be attached at registration: proof of residence, identification certificate issued by the mayor with a recent photo, health file if available, and a copy of the vaccination card confirming the student’s vaccinations.
**Article Nine**: A child who exceeds eight years of age without prior schooling will not be accepted for registration; nor will a child who has dropped out for two years or more. In both cases, these children will be referred to intensive education programs, with a list organized noting their names, ages, and phone numbers filed with the concerned educational districts according to regulations.
**Article Ten**: The afternoon shift school/secondary school will commit to applying all public safety and traffic safety measures, taking the necessary preventive actions to ensure the safety of teachers, students, and all personnel during the entry and exit traffic of cars and school buses at the beginning and end of the teaching day.
**Article Eleven**: A decision will subsequently be issued by the Minister of Education and Higher Education containing the specific procedures and guidelines for managing the afternoon shift, along with the tasks previously assigned to the abolished Management and Implementation Unit of the Comprehensive Education Program.
