BEIRUT: Abbas Halabi, Lebanon’s caretaker education minister, said on Friday that the rumored integration of Syrian students with Lebanese students in public schools is “not feasible.”
He added that the ministry intends to continue with the current system, in which Lebanese students attend classes in the morning, while non-Lebanese students — including Syrians — attend in the afternoon.
As of 2019, Syrian students constituted approximately 20 percent of Lebanon’s total student population. The latest estimates from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, for the academic year 2020-2021 revealed that there were 321,512 registered Syrian students in the country, of whom 187,000 studied in public schools, around 11,000 in free private schools, 53,000 in paid private schools, and more than 6,000 in “non-formal education programs.” Additionally, around 64,000 Syrian students were enrolled in secondary education.
To accommodate this influx of students, 337 schools began running afternoon classes.
Lebanon’s economic crisis — described as one of the worst in its modern history by the World Bank — has been ongoing since 2019. The national currency has lost more than 95 percent of its value, leading to a marked decline in salaries and purchasing power for Lebanese citizens.
According to government estimates, there are around 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, with close to 880,000 registered with the UNHCR. The majority of them are facing challenging living conditions.
The collapse of the economy has significantly affected the Ministry of Education’s ability to cover the costs of educating both Lebanese and Syrian students and supporting educational institutions.
The relationship between the ministry and donors helping to fund the education of Syrian students has been marred by uncertainty and allegations of extortion.
During a meeting with journalists on Friday, Halabi clarified that afternoon education is “covered by donor parties, but this education imposes burdens on the Lebanese state’s budget, as it requires the use of public-school buildings for both morning and afternoon shifts.”
He said the ministry is collaborating with UNICEF to implement solar-energy systems in all public-school buildings, vocational institutes, and teaching centers. More than 850 facilities are set to benefit from this project.
Halabi expressed his hope that, by the end of the year, those systems will be fully operational, eliminating the need for any other energy sources in schools.
He said: “The Lebanese government’s policy mandates that Lebanese teachers be solely responsible for teaching both Lebanese and Syrian refugee students in public schools, regardless of the morning or afternoon shifts. Despite some challenges — like resignations, retirements, and unpaid leave — the ministry believes there are enough teachers to meet the requirements. Therefore, the ministry does not seek the services of non-Lebanese educational staff. It’s worth noting that the curriculum used for teaching is exclusively Lebanese in both shifts.”
Overseas donations only cover funding for basic education for non-Lebanese students, Halabi pointed out, adding that the ministry is “open to exploring different options” for the funding of secondary education.
Public schools that accommodate Syrian students in the afternoons receive $140 per student from donor countries.
However, some schools that accommodate Lebanese students in the morning are struggling to pay teachers’ salaries, and donors are reluctant to provide funding specifically for teacher incentives.
As a new academic year approaches, the Ministry of Education is grappling with the same issues that arose during the last one, when public-school teachers went on strike, leading to more than 40 days of disruption for students of all nationalities.
