Rabab, 15, has not been back to school since the Christmas holidays. Her public school in the south of the country is currently suspended as part of a nationwide strike.
Teachers began striking on January 9. The following day, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education announced it would suspend afternoon classes, which are primarily attended by Syrian refugee students.
It is estimated that over one million children are currently out of school in Lebanon due to the closure of all public schools. A total of almost 300,000 students are registered for the morning shift – reserved for the Lebanese – and nearly 170,000 children are registered for the afternoon shift, in addition to the over half a million students who had already dropped out.
Teachers have been demanding better payment since the start of the economic collapse in 2019, when the lira started devaluing rapidly against the US dollar. While the lira has reached a staggering 55,000 lira per dollar, teachers’ wages have remained unchanged.
Educators and experts fear that conditions will only worsen, particularly without any solutions in sight and with no sign that the ministry is taking action.
“We’re always stressed and it’s only getting worse,” Rabab told NOW. “Teachers don’t care about us, so we don’t know what to do.”
What’s happening?
According to Leen Hatem*, a teacher at a public school in northern Lebanon whose name was changed for privacy concerns, teachers are paid around 2,000,000 L.L to 4,000,000 L.L, which currently amount to about 37 dollars to 70 dollars, which does not even cover transportation bills.
“It’s like you have to work to afford going to your job as a teacher,” Hatem told NOW. “To fill up my car I need around 5,000,000 Lira so I can’t even afford to go.”
One of the teachers’ primary concerns are salaries set at the new official rate set by Lebanon’s Central Bank for bank transactions at 15,000 L.L, or to be compensated in US dollars. Last year, Hatem said that the teachers were given an extra $90 that was then retracted.
“The minister promised us $130 at the beginning of this year then retracted his decision and the money suddenly vanished,” Hatem said.
The Minister of Education, Abbas Halabi, was contacted for a comment but could not be reached. More than 80 percent of Lebanon’s population has been plunged into poverty as a result of Lebanon’s financial collapse, which is in its fourth year and shows no signs of slowing down.
Throughout 2022, public school teachers were on constant strikes, some even lasting over a month. The Ministry of Education had promised tripled salaries and $130 in monthly incentives, paid in Lebanese lira at a rate determined by the Central Bank’s Sayrafa rate. They would also be entitled to a daily transportation allowance of 95,000 lira.
Also, the World Bank approved the S2R2 project, which involves around 18 million dollars in grants and about 60 million dollars in loans.
However, the World Bank has yet to approve the transfer of aid, as it exceeds 50 million dollars per year. The 60 million dollar loans will be used to restore schools and equipment. After the request is submitted to the Parliament, a law amendment is required.
The demeaning nature of teaching makes you stop wanting to teach, so many students pick up on that and humiliate you in return.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Education and Higher Education revealed that after long and frequent meetings and coordination with donors, the Ministry of Education will be providing teachers and workers in public schools and public high schools with productivity support allowances of up to ninety dollars a month, starting on the date when classes resume.
But in the end, the promises remained hollow.
No education for the youth
Though teachers continue to protest, Leen has little hope that they will have their demands met. Under these conditions, she says, the psychological strain has become unbearable.
“The demeaning nature of teaching makes you stop wanting to teach, so many students pick up on that and humiliate you in return,” she said.
Students are also suffering. Because Rabab has been unable to return to school after the holidays, her mental health has rapidly deteriorated. As the uncertainty has driven her stress up the roof, she has started seeing a therapist.
“Previous strikes had us cram all subjects into a short period before exams,” the student said. “This made me afraid of exams and prevented me from looking forward optimistically to the future.”
Furthermore, the student says that multiple subjects have been removed from the curriculum, resulting in a less effective learning process. Several students have begun learning subjects at home by watching YouTube videos and asking other students for help.
There is an entire generation that has grown up in camps and is in desperate need of education so they won’t resort to criminal behavior to make ends meet in the future.
According to Nesreen Shahine, head of the Committee for Retired Teachers in public schools, it may take a few years for students to regain interest in education.
“Teachers no longer feel respected enough to teach, and students no longer feel protected,” Shahine told NOW. “Therefore, this generation’s future is at risk.”
Shahine claims that some schools aren’t adhering to their strike decision, which makes every region with educational institutions susceptible to political influence.
Some schools have ignored the strike call and have received money from political parties in their respective regions to continue teaching, Shahine claimed. Rather than having a unified power, we have a federalist system.”
No education for the youth
Though teachers continue to protest, Leen has little hope that they will have their demands met. Under these conditions, she says, the psychological strain has become unbearable.
“The demeaning nature of teaching makes you stop wanting to teach, so many students pick up on that and humiliate you in return,” she said.
Students are also suffering. Because Rabab has been unable to return to school after the holidays, her mental health has rapidly deteriorated. As the uncertainty has driven her stress up the roof, she has started seeing a therapist.
“Previous strikes had us cram all subjects into a short period before exams,” the student said. “This made me afraid of exams and prevented me from looking forward optimistically to the future.”
Furthermore, the student says that multiple subjects have been removed from the curriculum, resulting in a less effective learning process. Several students have begun learning subjects at home by watching YouTube videos and asking other students for help.
There is an entire generation that has grown up in camps and is in desperate need of education so they won’t resort to criminal behavior to make ends meet in the future.
According to Nesreen Shahine, head of the Committee for Retired Teachers in public schools, it may take a few years for students to regain interest in education.
“Teachers no longer feel respected enough to teach, and students no longer feel protected,” Shahine told NOW. “Therefore, this generation’s future is at risk.”
Shahine claims that some schools aren’t adhering to their strike decision, which makes every region with educational institutions susceptible to political influence.
Some schools have ignored the strike call and have received money from political parties in their respective regions to continue teaching, Shahine claimed. Rather than having a unified power, we have a federalist system.”
Syrian refugees, also a victim
In response to the teachers’ strike, the Ministry of Education has suspended afternoon classes allocated to Syrian refugee students in Lebanon’s public schools, stating that “the administrative and educational authority cannot suspend morning classes attended by Lebanese students while maintaining the afternoon shifts allocated to Syrian refugee students.”
Syrian educators and administrators often receive their salaries in dollars from donors.
Hussein Mohammad Al Hussein, a Syrian activist and humanitarian expert, argues that the ban on Syrian students attending classes is a government pressure tactic to extract donations.
“We [Syrians] have always been a pressure card that the government has employed in the past and continues to do so,” Al Hussein told NOW.
The educator agrees that both Syrians and Lebanese should have equal access to the teaching process. However, with poor access to education, he fears for the future of Syrian students.
“There is an entire generation that has grown up in camps and is in desperate need of education so they won’t resort to criminal behavior to make ends meet in the future,” said the educator.
As for Shahine, she asserts that the strikes will continue until the demands are met. According to her, it is the minister’s responsibility to uncover where the promised money for the teachers has gone, otherwise, chaos will reign.
She says it is not the teachers’ responsibility to worry about donor countries, but rather to press the government to act.
Dana Hourany is a multimedia journalist with @NOW_leb. She is on Instagram @danahourany and Twitter @danahourany.
