Lebanon's education funding standoff: A catastrophe looms, Says Human Rights Watch

Lebanese Education Ministry and foreign donors must urgently agree on financing for the upcoming school year to prevent further disruptions to education, warns Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a statement.

With the new school year slated to begin in October, the Education Ministry still grapples with insufficient funding, leading to donor disagreements over teacher salaries.

In August, the Lebanese cabinet approved $50 million out of a requested $150 million budget for the Education Ministry, but it remains uncertain when these funds will be disbursed, said HRW.

The caretaker education minister has indicated that these funds will only keep schools operational for three to four months, leaving a significant funding gap. 

International donor support is pivotal for public schools serving both Lebanese and Syrian refugee children, yet the amount of funding for the upcoming year remains undisclosed, the organization added.

Over the past four years, repeated school closures in Lebanon have severely impacted over a million Syrian and Lebanese children. Bill Van Esveld, associate children's rights director at Human Rights Watch, warns of a potential catastrophe if an agreement is not reached, emphasizing that Lebanon's children risk losing their rights.

Human Rights Watch has spoken with various stakeholders, including foreign donors, humanitarian workers, and Lebanese teachers' representatives, and has relied on research from the Center for Lebanese Studies. Some Lebanese politicians have inaccurately portrayed foreign donor support as benefiting Syrian children. 

In reality, this funding covers essential educational expenses, including supplies, textbooks, and operational costs, for both Lebanese and Syrian students.

While donors have supported teachers' salaries for classes involving Syrian students, there is a dispute over funding for classes exclusively consisting of Lebanese students. 

"The education minister appealed to donors to provide $80 million for the school year, but donors will not agree to pay salaries for staff fulfilling their normal job duties, donor and humanitarian officials told Human Rights Watch," said the statement

Human Rights Watch calls for ending Lebanon's precarious approach to refugee children's education. In February 2023, during a strike by first-shift teachers, the Education Ministry closed second-shift classes for Syrian children, citing the need for "equality."

Furthermore, Lebanon should remove barriers hindering refugee children's access to education, such as document requirements and residency restrictions that are often impossible to obtain. The "two-year rule," which bars children out of school for two or more years from enrolling in formal education, should be lifted.

Foreign countries funding education in Lebanon should regularly disclose financial updates to promote transparency and accountability. This would empower Lebanese civil society to hold the government accountable and dispel misconceptions about donor support for refugee education, asserts Human Rights Watch.

"It is still virtually impossible to know how much education funding has been promised and delivered by donors and the government, which undermines accountability," Van Esveld said. 

Adding: "Foreign donors should lead by example with public transparency as to their own education funding in Lebanon."