Tuition fees in fresh dollars: A puzzle for Lebanon's Catholic schools

From the experience of the past academic year, private schools, especially Catholic ones, attempted to learn lessons for the launch of the academic year 2023 - 2024 with stability. 

They devised an action plan to organize the relationship between school administrations, teachers, and students' families. 

This was achieved by establishing a "governance council" while also activating "social offices" to assist families unable to pay tuition fees in "fresh dollars" and to prevent their children from dropping out of school.

Based on this plan, the cost of the academic year and the "size" of salaries and wages for teachers were calculated, which will be paid in "fresh dollars" from the families' pockets.

These topics were discussed during the 29th Conference of Catholic Schools sessions, attended by the Maronite Patriarch and representatives of Lebanese and European educational institutions supporting Lebanese schools.

This is a good start, but the educational community approaches it cautiously. The option of suspending classes and going on strike remains possible.

320 Catholic educational institutions are part of a union of educational institutions comprising hundreds of schools, educating over 70 percent of Lebanon's students. 

They rely on the understanding of teachers and students' parents to shoulder the financial burdens placed on them to ensure a stable academic year.

However, despite the activation of social offices and French assistance in paying the tuition fees of some struggling students in certain schools, it cannot be assumed that everyone will understand. 

This is particularly true since some salary increases for teachers, ranging from $300 to $700, do not align with the rise in tuition fees on the one hand and do not meet the basic needs of teachers to secure a minimum standard of living if their basic wages are not corrected, most of which range between one and a half million Lebanese lira and 3 million Lebanese lira to date.