BEIRUT — A body chaired by Lebanese Education Minister Abbas Halabi adopted a long-awaited new school curriculum framework Wednesday, the minister told L'Orient-Le Jour. 

"Our work has been crowned with success," Halabi added. "It took us a year of endless, serious and in-depth discussions. But in the end, we have reached a national consensus on the issue, an educational Taif," he said.

The Higher Authority for Curricula, which approved the framework, brings together the public and private education sectors, schools and universities, the educational inspectorate, the president of the parliamentary commission on education as well as experts and representatives of community bodies.

The framework document has served as a vision for the reforms wanted by the Ministry of Education. Initiated in 2015 after years of inaction and shelved until 2021, it finally saw the light of day on Wednesday, after oftentimes heated debates.

Though the specific reforms spelled out in the framework are still unclear as of Wednesday evening, the document could be a first step toward reforming Lebanon's education system.