Schools are open, teachers are on strike

Secretary General of Catholic Schools Father Marwan Tabet told LBCI that schools will open on Thursday, adding “However, we respect the decision made by teachers adhering to the union to commit to the strike”. Tabet explained that wage raise will certainly bear heavy repercussions on school tuitions, stressing that, according to a study carried out by catholic schools; the tuition increase will reach 18%.   

The Head of private schools teachers syndicate in Lebanon Nehmat Mahfouz told LBCI that under no circumstance will the teachers give classes tomorrow because they are all committing to the strike organized by the Trade Union coordination Committee. Mahfouz stressed that the purpose behind the strike is to protest against the decision regarding wage adjustment. 

It is worth noting that, if wages are raised or even adjusted, school tuitions will spike, which is fiercely opposed by parents who are holding teachers responsible. On the one hand teachers insist that they, the parents and the educational institutions are stuck in the same ditch, while parents urged teachers to sit together on a round table to come to a solution. The parents threatened to take it to the streets in the case of a tuition fee increase.

Every year teachers organize similar strikes asking for an increase in wages while tuition fees see a yearly upward spiral, which leaves students paying a high price from their school hours and parents from their already eroding salaries.