Education Committee of the Lebanese Parliament Gives Yet Another Salary Increase to Teachers

The year 2010 began with shocking news from the Education Committee of the Lebanese parliament. It was announced today 2 January 2010 that the Education Committee decided to give yet another increase in salaries to teachers (Elementary Level). The decision is also backdated. This is very bad news for our school and for all private schools that provide education to the poor and needy. Prestigious private schools will have no problem as they can increase fees and even make a profit from this situation. Private schools with religious or political agendas will have no problem as the politicians or the countries that are financing them will have no problem paying the money needed. Private schools that provide the poor with free or semi-free education are the ones that are going to be hardly hit. Father Marwan Tabet, General Secretary for Catholic Schools in Lebanon, warned today that this decision will effectively close all free private schools that are providing education to the poor and needy. We still have to wait for our accounting office to work out the figures to really know what the impact of this decision will be on our school. We barely managed to survive the increase on salaries last year, and sadly we had to layoff many of our staff. We ask all our partners, alumni, and friends to pray for our school and all similar schools in Lebanon which will be struggling to continue to provide quality care and good education to the poor and needy. We strongly urge all Lebanese politicians to really understand the gravity of the situation before making such decisions. The Lebanese government can increase its huge debt for a few more years, but most private schools that provide care and education to the poor and needy may have to put an end to some of their programs or totally close down.