Students sit for the Lebanese baccalaureate exam at a high school in Beirut, July 10, 2023. (Credit: Hussam Chbaro)
BEIRUT — Angry youths attacked caretaker Education Minister Abbas Halabi's convoy on Monday morning as he toured the Shakib Arslan public high school in Beirut on the first day of the Lebanese official baccalaureate exams.
A video circulating on social networks showed several young people kicking and throwing objects at two cars with tinted windows as they passed in front of the school, to the applause of those present.
It is not clear whether these young people were students taking their baccalaureate at the school.
In another video, one of the young men who attacked the minister's convoy, and who introduced himself as a member of the General Union of Students in Lebanon, denounced "policies that undermine public education."
"We need a fair solution for students [taking the Lebanese baccalaureate exam]," he said.
In a statement reported by local media, the Education Ministry said that "four young men protested in front of the high school, claiming that the tests were unfair, in order to grab attention."
L'Orient-Le Jour tried to reach Minister Halabi for comment, but he was not immediately available.
In early 2023, public school teachers went on strike for several weeks to demand improved working conditions, as Lebanon continues to reel from the unprecedented economic collapse that began in 2019, hampering public school students' access to continuous education.
In mid-June, Najib Mikati's caretaker government canceled the official exams for the brevet (ninth grade), citing "logistical" reasons.
Official examinations were canceled in 2020 and 2021 in Lebanon, due to a lack of funding and measures linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, though they were held again in 2022.
