Caretaker Education Minister Abbas Halabi (Credit: the Ministry)
Caretaker Education Minister Abbas Halabi announced Wednesday evening that "the transportation of 3,000 Lebanese baccalaureate candidates from conflict zones in southern Lebanon to examination centers in safer areas, such as Sour, Nabatieh, and Tebnine, will be provided by the ministry with the support of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL."
The general baccalaureate exams are scheduled to take place from June 29 to July 5, 2024. They will be held in person and standardized for the 45,000 students across Lebanon, including those from the southern border regions where schools have been closed since the beginning of the school year when conflict erupted between Hezbollah and Israel on Oct. 8, 2023.
In an interview on the local television channel LBCI, Halabi specified that 14 bus routes will be made available for students, from gathering points to examination centers. "We have already developed the plan and maps and invited regional educational officials to inform school administrations and students," Halabi said, expressing confidence that "this measure will reassure candidates and their parents," ensuring they can take the baccalaureate exams in the safest conditions possible.
When asked why he did not simply cancel the exams for students in war-torn areas in southern Lebanon, Halabi emphasized the importance of preserving the value of the official school diploma and ensuring that all students earn it. He reminded me that almost 43,000 students in Lebanon had a “normal and complete school year.”
"Had we opted to issue certificates to students in southern Lebanon, they would not have been accepted by universities abroad," he noted.
He stressed that he had taken all necessary political, security, and even diplomatic steps to ensure proper exam conditions. However, he lamented the deliberate attempts by some to "orchestrate campaigns against this," aiming to disrupt the exams and undermine students' morale by spreading false information. He refrained from naming the parties responsible for such actions.
"Even with a reduced program and the possibility for students to choose optional subjects," Halabi assured no student would be disadvantaged compared to another, as the optional questions cover the entire program, including the subjects taught in classrooms in conflict zones. "My goal is for future exams to cover the full program without optional subjects, under normal conditions," he added.
Regarding the conduct of the exams, Halabi revealed that candidates would be granted an additional ten minutes to select their optional questions. He noted that each examination center would be equipped with surveillance cameras to prevent cheating, and any cases of fraud would be subject to criminal prosecution.
Finally, addressing the issue of some private school students who had not received their examination cards due to unpaid school fees, Halabi invited these students to collect their cards from the Education Ministry.
