The Minister of Education and Higher Education in the caretaker government, Abbas al-Halabi, inaugurated the Zahiyya Qaddoura official mixed secondary school and the Amin Bayhum official model school in the unified building housing both in Caracas - Hamra, following a comprehensive renovation, beautification, and renewal process along with the development of all the facilities of the secondary school and the school.
In this context, the Minister of Education stated: "I am very pleased to meet and inaugurate this beautiful building located in the Ras Beirut area, which previously housed the Qala'a prison; it has now transformed into a school, fulfilling the saying that 'he who opens a school closes a prison.' Our predecessors, who decided to open this school in this beloved area of Beirut, made the right choice."
He added: "We have benefited from a loan from the World Bank and invested the funds in the best place for the benefit of our children and our teachers. I am motivated by this occasion, as we are on the eve of the opening of the 2023/2024 academic year, to say that some media outlets are trying to suggest that there is a confrontation between the teachers' unions and the Ministry of Education. Thus, let me be entirely clear: the Ministry of Education is on the front line in defending public education and protecting the rights of teachers. We know that there is great suffering endured by members of the teaching staff, as is the case with all public sector employees; the situation does not pertain only to them, but their work nature requires them to go to school daily, unlike public administration employees who work fewer days, except for the Ministry of Education employees who work six or seven days a week. This reality necessitates distinguishing them from others and standing by them."
He also stated: "In this context, we confirm that we called for the start of registration on September 14 of this month, and the unions requested not to enroll; however, no one should think that we are heading towards a clash with them, but rather we are headed towards dialogue to agree with them on starting the academic year. I am gathering all the necessary data to ensure a successful meeting between them and myself, as well as with the ministry officials, so that we can work together to agree on a roadmap that announces the start of registration and classes and to ensure some level of stability in the upcoming academic year, compensating our students for the previous years that witnessed interruptions and forced stoppages."
The Minister of Education emphasized that "the situation cannot endure further interruptions in education, so we are keen on our students' interests, and neither we nor the unions will allow the downfall of official schools and secondary schools, as they are the foundation of education in Lebanon. We rely on our official institutions and their educational bodies to uplift the sector."
