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Technical Issues Hamper Distance Learning for Lebanese Students

A worker cleans a classroom desk of a school closed as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus in Sidon, Lebanon February 29, 2020. (Reuters)
A worker cleans a classroom desk of a school closed as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus in Sidon, Lebanon February 29, 2020. (Reuters)
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Technical Issues Hamper Distance Learning for Lebanese Students

A worker cleans a classroom desk of a school closed as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus in Sidon, Lebanon February 29, 2020. (Reuters)
A worker cleans a classroom desk of a school closed as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus in Sidon, Lebanon February 29, 2020. (Reuters)

Decisions issued by the Lebanese government to close schools imposed a forced indefinite holiday on more than one million students, prompting authorities to consider alternatives.

During a recent Cabinet session, ministers discussed the launching of distance teaching, in cooperation between the ministries of education, communications and media, including the production of television programs and modern interactive methods between teachers and students within educational classes that would be broadcasted on Lebanon’s state-owned TV channel, just as it was during the civil war in the 1970s.

The decision to close schools was accompanied by a circular on the adoption of distance education through social media technologies. The Educational Emergency Committee also announced, on more than one occasion, that the official examinations for the secondary school certificate would be held this year, ruling out any proposal on their cancellation.

However, the plans of the Ministry of Education collide with the technological reality in Lebanon.

Karim Zarzour, a specialist in this field, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the internet in Lebanon does not meet the need for distance education, saying that the Ministry of Communications has increased the capacity of use without improving its quality.

He added that the Education Ministry’s plans would work for a group of students, but others, especially in public schools, would be excluded. This would cause stratification among students, Zarzour said, noting that a large percentage of them does not have a smartphone, tablet or computer.

While the distance learning level converges between public and private schools, free schools suffer from a difficult situation that prevents them from being able to cope with this educational emergency, because their students are often from underprivileged and semi-destitute groups.

This means that the Education Ministry’s efforts to compensate for the forced school closure will face many difficulties, as the technical ground is not ready in terms of resources and equipment, just as the educational curricula are not interactive.

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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.