Schools and Universities in Lebanon in 2021 - The country’s crises threaten their sustainability
Opinion analysis by Maria Wehbe, Staff Writer
September 2nd, 2021
Over the past year and a half, people all over the world have been faced with the unpredictable and tragic threat of the COVID-19 pandemic that wrecked countries and tore families apart. Since then, people have tried to manage and cope accordingly, but adaptation did not come easily. Though gradually, some countries have been trying to go back to normalcy by slowly opening stores, restaurants, malls, schools, clubs and so on. However, this is not the case everywhere. In the case of Lebanon, the COVID-19 pandemic is one big problem among many others, and for some citizens, isn’t even one to begin with. From a deadly explosion that rocked the capital city of Beirut, to the hyperinflation, to the economic crisis, to the fuel crisis, to the shortage of medication and basic necessities, and the list goes on: the country is truly one that is in absolute crisis. The one sector that took a particularly big hit was the education sector: teachers and professors are fleeing the country, one after the other, in the hope of finding better opportunities abroad, some schools and universities are being threatened of closing down, there is a limited amount of internet connection to conduct classes online and there is a limited amount of fuel to go to schools and universities to conduct classes in-person. Therefore, the question is this: will schools and universities be able to remain open this academic year, or will they succumb to the various crises that are taking the country by storm?
Lebanon’s Education Sector used to be one of the best in the world: in fact, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report, the country’s educational sector was once ranked tenth globally and was prized throughout the Middle East as a regional leader. However, when uncertainty and unsteadiness started settling in back in 2019 when the revolution first started, the sector was not prepared and was taken by surprise. At first, higher-paid teachers in private schools were being laid off (accounting to about 30%) in order to save money, leading to many teachers fleeing the country and scattering all over the MENA region: what used to be a 1.5 million Lebanese pounds salary, equivalent to $1000 a month, is now worth less than $90. Rodolphe Abboud, head of the syndicate for private school teachers in Lebanon, said that most private schools around the country have lost between ten and forty teachers each thus far: “We are at the stage of just staying alive. There is not one school now that is not advertising for jobs.”, he said. Several grade levels are being joined together for a couple of subjects and the daily power cuts and shortages of basic materials are making it very difficult for schools to operate properly, which is putting a strain on their sustainability for the academic year to come.
On another note, the fact that most universities and many schools in Lebanon are private and not public is threatening students’ education, given that paying the tuition is becoming more and more difficult for the average Lebanese citizen. Actually, there is only one public university in the country and the Lebanese public school sector is weaker than that of its Middle Eastern counterparts. Parents can no longer afford to pay for their children’s education, depriving so many bright minds of one of many basic human rights. “When all educational institutions, affluent or not, are facing the above challenges, quality education is compromised and so, equity in education is compromised. With that being said, quality education will no longer prevail and be the same”, said Dr. Amal Bou Zeineddine, the Associate Director for the Center for Teaching and Learning, a well-renowned professor and the chair of the Practice Teaching Committee in the Department of Education at the American University of Beirut to The Phoenix Daily.
The upcoming academic year is one like no other, whether it be for schools or universities. Although the past two academic years have been challenging, they do not compare to the one to come: these times are really unprecedented and the accumulation of problems and crises are posing a dangerous threat to these institutions: “Schools and universities are assisting their faculty in meeting the challenges of the coming academic year; they have booklets and training prepared for faculty, students, parents and the community; for example, Harvard and Stanford are on top of these challenges. Proper preparations for the coming academic year could be our first challenge in Lebanon because we are not only dealing with the pandemic, but we’re also facing very serious concerns and uncertainties about electricity shortage which jeopardizes online teaching and learning, fuel shortages which jeopardize commuting to and from educational institutions, financial constraints which would leave many students out of quality education or even any kind of education, faculty migration to countries in the region or beyond, and lack of educational resources and equipment, all of which compromise quality education and more importantly, equity in education.”, reiterated Dr. Bou Zeineddine.
It is true that students are at risk of not completing their academic year at all, yet it is worth mentioning that the problem goes beyond that: the educational sector serves as a major contributor to the Lebanese GDP, but it is feasible to raise the tuition fees to an extent that is no longer affordable. The institutions alongside the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) must come up with solutions to keep the doors open, because students are the future of this country and without them, it could really be in peril. “There has to be a support system in each educational institution; in addition, there needs to be some type of webbing and networking where we all collaborate and assist each other in these unusual circumstances. There has to be a sort of educational hotline or a designated center or a website where exchange of experiences and advice is shared for all those in the field. Educational institutions should have a handbook of suggestions, training for all stakeholders to stand together and help maintain an acceptable level of quality education and equity for all.”, added Dr. Bou Zeineddine.
Last but not least, The Phoenix Daily asked Dr. Bou Zeineddine whether educational institutions are really threatened when it comes to closing their doors this academic year: “This is a tough question. Who knows? In Lebanon we’re taking it one day at a time. I hope we will be moving to better and more certain days, but really, who knows?!”. The uncertainty in Lebanon leaves all its citizens uneasy and constantly worried about what tomorrow has to bring: they at least deserve not to be worried about receiving or providing education. UNESCO has stepped in by reinforcing its support towards universities and schools, especially after the August 4th Port Explosion: they rehabilitated two Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centers, 55 public schools and three universities in Beirut with the help of the Qatar Fund for Development and Education Above All. However, this was partially the problem: it goes far beyond that – there are limited amounts of electricity, internet connection, fuel, ink, paper, textbooks, etc. And so, there is a real possibility that institutions will be forced to close, given that the accumulation of crises is out of their hands. Yet, one thing is for sure: students deserve better than to succumb to the situation that the country is in, and they deserve to receive quality education, more so than anything else.