Ei-iE

“Lebanese educators are doing a splendid job of accommodating the tens of thousands Syrian refugee children who have entered their class rooms in the past two years.” EI General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen, conveyed this message to the Education Minister of Lebanon, Mr. Hassan Diab, and the leaders of the Lebanese teachers’ organizations in a meeting at the Education Ministry in Beirut on 23 October.

Van Leeuwen also said that the teachers’ organisations must be involved in the international relief programs currently underway to help the country meet the unprecedented challenges posed by an ever growing refugee population. “The professional views of teachers who are making every possible effort to ensure quality schooling for their Lebanese and Syrian students should not be ignored,” Van Leeuwen said.

The Lebanese teachers’ organisations have stressed that they are strongly committed to help guarantee that all refugee children can attend classes in Lebanese schools. Some 30,000 Syrian children are already attending public schools in the country, while 50,000 are on waiting lists. Another 300,000 pupils are expected to register in the near future.

To avoid overcrowded classrooms, the teacher organisations have proposed that recently closed schools be renovated and re-opened and that new buildings be constructed. To accommodate a maximum number of refugee children Education Minister Hassan Diab has decided that public schools will start working in two shifts. However, as long as the system is unable to absorb all refugee children, non-formal education programs, including Accelerated Learning Programs (ALP), will be made available through non-governmental organisations.