Strike or no strike?

The head of the Private Schools' Teachers Syndicate, Nehme Mahfoud, said that the strike is backed by the law. “Anyone who undermines teachers will be prosecuted”, he told LBC.    

Mahfoud also called on parents not to send their kids to schools on Wednesday.    

Hanna Gharib, head of the Secondary School Teachers League called on teachers to defend their interests, stressing their right to call for a strike. He told LBC that the position of private schools’ owners contradicts the interests of both teachers and students.      

As for the Syndical Coordination Committee, it announced that the strike, called for by the private schools’ Teachers Union will be comprehensive and will thwart the school day tomorrow at all private and public schools.       

On the other hand, the Union of Private Educational Institutions that covers all private schools stressed that schools “will open their doors tomorrow”.      

Among private schools, some will not be teaching, while others are betting on some hesitant teachers to decline from participating in the strike.     

Most of the private schools insist on opening their doors, saying they will send their buses to pick up the kids. Their administration departments and classes will also be open with absolutely no guarantees that the teachers will show up.      

So the strike goes on from being a demand to become a confrontation between teachers and parents who anticipated the strike with the release of a statement where they refused the teachers’ call to hold a strike. Instead, they urged them to stand by them instead of taking steps that jeopardize the existence and persistence of schools.