Lebanon's caretaker Education Minister Abbas Halabi announced on Wednesday that private schools and universities would resume face-to-face classes as of Thursday, although they are also required to provide distance learning until the end of 2024.

In a statement, Halabi called on private schools and universities to “resume face-to-face teaching alongside distance learning until the end of 2024, due to the presence of many families abroad.” Public and technical schools will continue their educational work in accordance with the timetables already established, he added.

“Public schools used as accommodation centers or to provide morning and evening classes for various groups of pupils will remain closed until the end of the week, and will resume their educational work from Monday,” he continued, asking the heads of these schools to assess the condition of their establishments. Finally, the Minister instructed the Ministry's administration and engineering unit to examine the condition of the school buildings, prepare reports on the repairs to be carried out, and assess them with a view to taking the necessary measures.

The current school year has been severely affected by the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Classes were repeatedly suspended in the private sector, while the year got off to a rocky start in the public sector, where more than 30,000 of the 300,000 or so pupils expected to attend were absent, according to Ministry figures.