Ahmed Murad (Beirut, Cairo)
Lebanon is witnessing a sharp deterioration in various service sectors as a result of the worsening political and economic crises it is currently experiencing, most notably the education sector, in light of the inability of many families to pay school fees as a result of the difficult living conditions that the majority of families are experiencing.
Earlier, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned of the danger of the increasing deterioration in most aspects of children's lives as a result of the worsening crises taking place in Lebanon, and according to the UN organization's assessment at the end of 2023 entitled “Trapped in a Cycle of Collapse”, political and economic crises deprive children in a major way. Increasing levels of education force many of them to go to work.
The writer and professor at the Lebanese University, Salma Al-Hajj, explained that the political crisis has clearly reflected on the economic and living situation of millions of Lebanese who are suffering from a devastating, multi-dimensional crisis that is considered the most painful and influential in the country’s modern history, noting that this crisis is classified among the three worst crises in the world. Since the middle of the 19th century, according to a World Bank report.
Al-Hajj stated in a statement to Al-Ittihad that the phenomenon of school dropout and the deprivation of thousands of children from education is one of the most dangerous repercussions resulting from the political and economic situation that Lebanon is currently witnessing, and is due to the inability of many families to pay school fees in light of the difficult living conditions they are experiencing. The majority of families.
UNICEF estimates indicate that 26% of families do not send their children to school, and this percentage has increased from the last assessment conducted by the United Nations organization in April 2023, when the percentage was 18%, in addition to the closure of dozens of schools in southern Lebanon due to the military escalation, which… It affected more than 6,000 students.
The Lebanese writer said: “The majority of families care about providing food and drink as a life priority at the expense of education, which is a natural thing after the lira lost its value, in addition to the fact that many families have become below the poverty line in light of the crisis situation on more than one level, which led to sending boys to… Under the age of 18 to enter the labor market to secure the requirements of daily life.
Al-Hajj pointed to other dimensions of the education crisis in Lebanon, represented by the brain drain due to the deteriorating economic conditions, and some cases of strikes that schools witnessed due to teachers’ demands for their financial rights, which left Lebanon facing a real disaster in the education sector, which was previously one of the main pillars of the country, along with Security, army and banks.
Lebanese political analyst, Maysaa Abdel Khaleq, explained that the education sector is one of the sectors most affected by the political and economic crises that Lebanon is witnessing, which is clearly evident in the increasing rates of children being deprived of education.
Maysaa stated in a statement to Al-Ittihad that Lebanon is witnessing a sharp deterioration in various services and sectors, and after it was distinguished by providing the best educational services in the Arab region during the past decades, it is facing an unprecedented disaster, and fears are increasing that we will witness generations unable to complete their university education.
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