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The Federation of Private Educational Institutions in Lebanon held an emergency meeting today to discuss the latest developments, especially with regard to the agenda of the Council of Ministers on Monday, February 6, 2023, which is devoted to educational affairs.

After deliberation, and confirmation of its previous and firm positions, and out of concern for the continuity of the academic year and for preserving the unity of the educational family and strengthening its cooperation, the federation issued the following statement:

First, the Union is surprised that a ministerial session devoted to educational affairs was convened without consulting it or listening to its opinion regarding the educational challenges and difficulties it faces, while recalling that the private educational sector embraces more than 70% of Lebanon’s students.

Secondly, the private school performs a public national service, the mainstay of which is the teacher, whose work is considered a national mission par excellence. Therefore, in addition to what the school administrations provide, the union calls on the government to appreciate the work of the teacher and exchange it for improving his living conditions and benefiting him from the services that enable him to continue carrying out his duty.

Third, the failure to include the status of a free private school on the agenda threatens more than a hundred thousand students and thousands of teachers with homelessness, so the federation calls on the government to expedite an urgent decision to pay its dues owed by the state 5 years ago, taking into account the purchasing value of these grants by calculating them in dollars. 15.000 LBP

Fourth, the union calls on the government to ensure the unity of the educational family, whose cooperation has resulted in the continuation of the academic year, by not issuing decisions and decrees that cause confusion in the academic year and conflicts between them, which we are indispensable in these harsh conditions.