World Bank: Lebanon’s Education System ‘Under Threat’

Caption: A teacher walks along a corridor of a public school in Beirut, Lebanon. (File photo: Reuters)
Caption: A teacher walks along a corridor of a public school in Beirut, Lebanon. (File photo: Reuters)
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World Bank: Lebanon’s Education System ‘Under Threat’

Caption: A teacher walks along a corridor of a public school in Beirut, Lebanon. (File photo: Reuters)
Caption: A teacher walks along a corridor of a public school in Beirut, Lebanon. (File photo: Reuters)

In its latest report on the situation in Lebanon, the World Bank warned of the dangers threatening the future of education in the country.

The report, titled “Foundations for Building Forward Better: An Education Reform Path for Lebanon”, presented an overview of key challenges facing the education sector.

“The compounded crises that have assailed Lebanon over the past several years –Syrian refugee influx, economic and financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Port of Beirut blast– have all put severe strains on an already struggling education system,” the World Bank stated.

It noted that low levels of learning and skills mismatch in the job market put the future of Lebanese children at risk and entail a critical need for more and better targeted investments in the sector.

“Pre-COVID-19 learning levels were already comparatively low, with only 6.3 years of learning taking place, after schooling is adjusted for actual learning. The global pandemic has led to extended school closures since March 2020, which will likely result in a further and significant decrease in learning,” the report said, adding: “Effectively, students in Lebanon are facing a “lost year” of learning.”

The Ministry of Education insisted on holding official exams despite the many voices that rose against the move, taking into account the difficult conditions and challenges that students have gone through, especially public school students who were unable to follow lessons for months as a result of teachers’ strikes and the inability of the relevant departments to provide them with the necessary tools for distance learning.

“We did not expect the minister to insist on holding the exams - in light of everything the country is witnessing - which put us and our families in a very difficult psychological situation,” says Naya Salameh, who is preparing for the intermediate certificate exams scheduled for next month.

Describing the minister’s decision as unjust, Naya tells Asharq Al-Awsat that she was not able to secure a computer to pursue distance learning but “until a month after my colleagues began online classes.”

“Many others in my class have not been able to buy these devices to this day,” she asserts.

Member of the Parliamentary Education Committee, MP Edgard Traboulsi, indicated that he and many other deputies had urged the Education Minister “not to hold the intermediate and secondary certificate exams and instead adopt school grades, but the ministry did not heed their demand on the pretext that many universities would not accept the certificates.”

“The ministry’s lack of confidence in private schools made it insist on exams, knowing that most universities now require the grades for the past 3 educational years, and most of them hold entrance exams,” Traboulsi noted.

“Lebanon needs to urgently reform the education sector and build forward better,” said Saroj Kumar Jha, World Bank Mashreq Regional Director.

“Now more than ever, Lebanon needs to invest more and better in improving learning outcomes for children and making sure Lebanese youth are well equipped with the right skills required by the job market to enable them to contribute to Lebanon’s economic recovery,” he added.



Middle East Must Emerge from Turbulence with Peace and Horizon of Hope, UN Chief Says

 United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses to members of the Security Council about the Middle East situation, including the Palestinian Question at UN Headquarters in New York City, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses to members of the Security Council about the Middle East situation, including the Palestinian Question at UN Headquarters in New York City, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)
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Middle East Must Emerge from Turbulence with Peace and Horizon of Hope, UN Chief Says

 United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses to members of the Security Council about the Middle East situation, including the Palestinian Question at UN Headquarters in New York City, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses to members of the Security Council about the Middle East situation, including the Palestinian Question at UN Headquarters in New York City, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)

The United Nations chief says the Middle East is undergoing a “profound transformation” and has urged all countries to ensure the region emerges from the turbulence with peace and “a horizon of hope grounded in action.”

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council Monday that “a new dawn is rising in Lebanon,” which he just visited. He said it was vital that Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army deploy there as required in the ceasefire agreement.

In Gaza, he urged Israel and Hamas to ensure that their newly agreed deal leads to a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages taken by Hamas and other militants during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel.

The ceasefire must also lead to four simultaneous actions on the ground, Guterres said.

Unhindered UN access including by the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA which Israel is seeking to ban is essential, he said, as well as scaled-up aid deliveries, Palestinians’ access to aid, and protection of civilians.

Guterres expressed deep concern about “an existential threat to the integrity and contiguity” of Gaza and the West Bank – key pieces of a future Palestinian state – from Israeli actions and “unabated illegal settlement expansion.”

“Senior Israeli officials openly speak of formally annexing all or part of the West Bank in the coming months,” he said. “Any such annexation would constitute a most serious violation of international law.”

The secretary-general said Syria “stands at a crossroads of history” and told the council, “We cannot let the flame of hope turn into an inferno of chaos.”

He stressed the need for a Syrian-led political transition, and “much more significant work in addressing sanctions and designations” especially in light of the country’s urgent economic needs.