Classes resumed in official high schools yesterday, following the return of official schools last week. This return is "conditional on the fulfillment of the promises made to us regarding benefits," some teachers pointed out, attending work as if "walking to the gallows," after the legal cover provided by the union was withdrawn due to the strike. Conversely, there is a significant number who oppose the strike, considering it "a means that has not succeeded in achieving demands and had adverse effects, damaging public education." In both cases, there are no signs of satisfaction or enthusiasm visible on the faces of the teachers in the schools and high schools, which returned to life without spirit.
Teachers in the basic and secondary public education systems adhered to the unions' decision to end the strike and returned to their jobs. However, this does not mean that all of them are pleased about returning to teaching. They view this step as a gesture of goodwill and are awaiting how the Ministry of Education and the government will respond. They threaten, "If they fail to meet our demands and fulfill promises, we will return to strike," according to a segment of teachers who came back "against their will."
The general inspector at Hussein Makati Official High School, Wael Zaaiter, attributes this to the "lack of legal cover for individual movements, which prevents us from rebelling against the union's decision and exposes us to accountability." Given that "there is no point in individual strikes," Zaaiter continues to carry out his work. Due to a lack of trust among some teachers at the high school in the union's decision, which they believe is "infected with politicization," they staged a protest during the first period.
At the mixed Shakib Arslan School and High School, the influx of the first days of teaching was lively. The three large, illuminated buildings were bustling with teachers and students, posters welcoming enthusiastic returning students covered the walls, and sweets were distributed in the hallways in celebration. However, this scene is misleading as it conceals the teachers' anxieties and fatigue. The high school principal, Waseela Yamout, talks about "the restlessness of teachers regarding their return." A supervisor intervenes, expressing feelings of "injustice," lamenting that "some teachers borrowed money for fuel to reach the high school."
On the other side, some teachers support the return to teaching because they were against the strike, like teacher Duriya Farhat, who rushes into the principal's office at Hussein Makati High School to attend her class at a university in Sidon, breaking the building's quiet with her loud voice. She laughs and states, "Contrary to the opinion of the principal and the director, I support returning because the strike undermines public education and violates every student's right to learn instead of being on the streets." She knows that social incentives were not distributed regularly last academic year, and some did not see any of it or received transport allowances. She is concerned about not receiving the benefits promised but does not view the strike as a successful means to achieve demands.
One teacher at the second school in Burj al-Barajneh is also against the strike because "the people say what they want, and the state does what it wants." However, he points out that "his return to teaching last week depended on fulfilling the demands." If they break their promises, "we will strike not out of love for striking, but because we find ourselves unable to endure."
**Displacement from Public Education**
Many teachers agree that the strike had negative repercussions and contributed, in some way, to harming public education. This is confirmed by the high numbers of students withdrawing from public schools and high schools, with 25% of students at Hussein Makati High School having withdrawn their registrations, while only around 300 students registered this year, according to Zaaiter. The number of students at the second school in Burj al-Barajneh also declined, with "100 students withdrawing their registrations from a total of 550," according to general supervisor Fadi al-Mawla, who cites conversations with parents to indicate that "the displacement from the school was toward the villages and public schools closer to home to avoid transportation costs, whereas the primary factor is the displacement to private schools."
As a result of the decrease in student numbers at Shakib Arslan School from 1,100 students last year to 850 this year, the number of classes dropped from 39 to 33 in "this school of very good reputation that people came from far regions to attend," says principal Ali Khattat, who notes that contracted teachers lost hours of work. Therefore, Khattat opposes the open-ended strike "for it harmed more than it benefited and held the students hostage," discussing other methods of protest, such as boycotting official exams in terms of supervision and correction.
A teacher expressed disbelief over the small number of students in one of the classes at Shakib Arslan High School, stating, "The class appears empty," and she complains to the principal: "It's a loss of many students," to which the principal responds affirmatively, "The number has decreased by 25% compared to last year."
Some parents did not withstand their concern for their children's future and their uncertainty about having an academic year, given that teachers began with a strike, so they turned to private schools according to their capabilities. Nonetheless, the teachers did not withdraw from their positions and demonstrated their ability to endure, according to school administrations. Various reasons contribute to this; some speak of a long tenure at the school that makes leaving during difficult circumstances "treason," while others talk about continuing their love for the profession despite all challenges, and some admit that "simply, there are no better alternative opportunities."
**Students' Fears**
Students are always the weakest link. While the young children appear happy and enthusiastic, a sense of tension overcomes the faces of the adults, especially students in the official secondary certificate. They express their fears and concerns about not receiving all the competencies and truncation of the curricula. They have already passed the breviary exams with certificates. They are not afraid of the cancellation of exams but rather of their occurrence with educational disparities between private and public school students. Some fear the cancellation of elective subjects. One of them states, "We tried going to private schools, but the economic situation did not allow," while they all laugh, aggregating, "If private education were free, none of us would be here."
