The outgoing Minister of Education, Abbas Halabi, and the deputy Wael Bou Faour celebrate the partial renovation of a public school in the locality of Rashaya. (Courtesy of Sara Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Education Minister Abbas Halabi and MP Wael Abou Faour of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) inaugurated on Friday the reopening of a wing of Rashaya Public School, in Rashaya, a Druze-Christian village in southern Bekaa. The newly renovated section of the building is used by elementary school students, grades 6 to 11 in the Lebanese system.
According to a statement released following the ceremony, which was organized by the municipality of Rashaya al-Wadi, Halabi praised the "revival" of this part of the school, stating that it addresses an "essential" need for young students in the region. The building is also used for teaching secondary school students.
Halabi also highlighted a project launched in "impossible circumstances," in the context of several ongoing crises and the cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza since Oct. 7. He acknowledged active support for the project from the Ministry of Education and MP Abou Faour. Halabi also stated that he has given instructions to provide computers to the school for both classes and administration.
Contacted by L'Orient Today, Abou Faour said the renovation work had started in October and around sixty enrolled students who were temporarily relocated to private institutions will now be able to attend classes on the school premises.