“Lebanon Debate”
In light of the continuing judicial and educational controversy over the file of raising tuition fees in private schools, and despite the issuance of a decision to freeze increases in a number of educational institutions based on complaints from parents’ committees, this file is still open to further complexity, in light of parents’ assertion that the freeze did not reflect an actual solution to the crisis.
In this context, Lama Al-Taweel, head of the Union of Parent Committees in Private Schools, explained in an interview with “Lebanon Debate” that, “Parent committees have previously obtained many judicial decisions in a number of schools, but the main problem lies in the lack of commitment by school administrations to implement these decisions, as some administrations resort to putting pressure on parents and threatening them not to register their children for the next academic year in the event of non-payment, which we recently witnessed in one of the Catholic schools.”
Al-Taweel added, “The solution is not just to freeze the increases, but rather through clear decisions requiring them to be stopped permanently, in addition to seeking the assistance of accounting audit experts to determine the actual value of the installments in a scientific and transparent manner.”
She stressed that “the reality on the ground has not really changed, especially since the Ministry of Education is still absent from the financial audit file, setting tuition fees, and reviewing school budgets.”
She continued: “Even in schools located in areas that witnessed closures or a decline in activity, and thus a decrease in operating expenses, families were asked to pay increases that were announced for this year, without the ministry taking any deterrent measures, unlike what was the situation during the term of Minister Tariq Al-Majzoub during the time of Corona, when schools were obligated to reduce tuition fees.”
Regarding the upcoming school year, Al-Taweel pointed out that “some schools have actually begun threatening random increases before the official budgets are approved or the parent committees approve, which constitutes a clear violation of the applicable laws, but the problem remains in the absence of oversight, transparency and accountability.”
She concluded by stressing that “the continuation of this approach puts families in direct confrontation with school administrations, in light of the absence of the state’s role in controlling this sensitive issue.”
