Lebanese University students demonstrate against the increase in tuition fees in Beirut, Aug. 17, 2023. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Several dozen students demonstrated on Thursday in front of the Palace of Justice in Beirut to protest tuition hikes at Lebanese University and to demand the return of PCR fees worth around $50 million "owed by the Middle East Airlines."
The protest, organized by a new group called the General Student Union, came after LU President Bassam Badran announced in August that annual tuition at Lebanon's sole public university would be LL12-13 million (about $134 - $146 according to the parallel market rate) this academic year.
Students then submitted an appeal to the State Shura Council against this decision.
During Thursday's protest, demonstrators heavily criticized Badran for the tuition hike.
One of the demonstrators said that the university's deficit should not be covered by the students, but by those "who have been accumulating profits."
Another protester added that "the State Shura Council has a historic opportunity to stand with the people against those who have been accumulating profits."
At the beginning of 2022, LU asserted in a statement that an airline operating in Lebanon owes it $50 million, as part of an agreement on the fees collected from PCR tests performed on arriving passengers at Beirut airport. LU did not identify the airline in question in its statement, though requested the immediate transfer of the funds in "fresh" US dollars.
The protesters also addressed Middle East Airlines, saying, which they accuse of owing the funds: "The money [owed by MEA] will come back to the Lebanese University."