Lebanese teachers are fighting for conditions as the education crisis worsens | Academic Issues

Beirut, Lebanon – Mona Azzam has been the first instructor in the mountainous region of Chouf in Lebanon since 1996.

The 58-year-old said he was happy with his job and life for a long time, but since the value of the Lebanese pound started falling in 2019, he has been struggling to make ends meet.

This month, for the first time in his career, he joined a teachers’ strike demanding higher pay and better working conditions.

Due to the pound loss, Azzam’s monthly salary has dropped to $ 100, and he is struggling to keep up with rising fuel prices and heaters are operating in the winter.

“My salary now is not enough to pay for fuel and change tires, and I live in a few villages away from my school,” Azzam told Al Jazeera. “We live in the mountains, so if I can’t properly adjust my car tires then I’m in a car accident.”

On January 10, teachers at public schools went on strike. Many Lebanese public schools have closed and refused to reopen, as teachers demand higher fees and financial support.

Lebanese government workers’ wages have not been adjusted to reflect a drop of more than 90 percent and a rise in inflation in the country.

In the two years since the country’s financial crisis began, three quarters of the population is living in poverty, making electricity, water, and food prices burdensome as millions of families are forced to work with budget cuts.

Abier Jaber is one of the many paid public school teachers who are paid by the hour. At the beginning of the crisis, the hourly wage rate dropped from $ 13 an hour to just under $ 1.

“Teachers tried to persevere by owning a car because they did not have the money to buy gasoline, and sometimes we paid with our pockets to ensure that the students had enough pens and fun to study,” he told Al Jazeera. “But now we can no longer do this.”

Schools also need teachers, Jaber adds, as the government does not have the funds to enroll more. Meanwhile, due to the financial crisis, many Lebanese families who would send their children to private school enroll their children in public schools, leading to more people looking for land.

Some teachers initially paid in their pockets to help students find the books and pens they needed, but Azzam and Jaber say this is not sustainable. The teachers said they had not received compensation from the government for the extra cost of internet and mobile phones during the epidemic while teaching away.

Dima Wehbi, policy adviser, advocacy and communications officer at the International Rescue Committee, told Al Jazeera that families face many obstacles to ensure their children’s education.

Wehbi explains: “Getting a good education is very difficult because the parents are having a hard time getting transportation and even food. “Fuel is a problem in schools and electricity.”

He noted that declining teacher pay, “especially in government”, was affecting educational opportunities and quality of education.

But the Lebanese government, which is on the verge of retaliation, says it will not do much. Education Minister Abbas Halabi said teachers’ demands for better pay and working conditions were justified.

“There is no doubt about it, but there are phones like the military, the judiciary, and a public drivers“Halabi told Al Jazeera.” This is a problem that is not limited to teachers.

Halabi said the entire government should make every effort to address the issue.

“This is a bigger issue than the ministry of education, and I have no ability to address it,” he said. “I am not the finance minister, and I do not personally choose the cabinet.”

The ministry has requested assistance from humanitarian agencies to support schools with COVID-19 medical facilities, training facilities, and to help vulnerable families get their children to school.

Lebanon’s troubles will only get worse results on millions of children. UNICEF and humanitarian organizations have documented numerous cases of child abuse in the past year, including the increase in child marriages and the use of children to raise funds for families in need.

The groups estimate that about 15 percent of families stopped sending their children to school.

Nonprofits, in addition to CodeBrave, have tried to provide other opportunities for children. The organization provides technical training for disadvantaged children, helping them to find employment and access to higher education.

“We knew about the 30 children when they volunteered in shelter in 2018, and most of them left and were drawn into the military and sex work because they had no job opportunities,” CodeBrave co-founder Clementine Brown told Al Jazeera. “And it was one of those kids, Khalil, who came up with the idea of ​​learning to write codes.”

Their offices in Beirut are packed with laptops, tablets, cell phones, and other gadgets for their students. Brown says he has been on the rise because of the growing number of schools and non-governmental organizations.

CodeBrave has helped more than 400 students in 2021 and has funding to support another 100 students this year.

Meanwhile, Lebanese officials are not planning to increase the salaries of teachers and other government officials right now, according to lawmakers and government officials. government plan 2022. The government will discuss the proposed increase in teachers’ allowances for transport and the provision of temporary bonuses on Monday at their first meeting after three months. Lawmakers close to the Prime Minister say they expect this to happen.

Azzam says she is grateful that her son, who lives abroad, is sending the money she needs to help with her monthly expenses. Her husband delayed her work and decided to keep working while her savings went down. But he said the government would not allow teachers to continue like this.

Jaber also said that if teachers’ performance did not improve, they would continue to strike.

He said: “Teachers need to work in a positive environment. “Otherwise, the school year is already over.”