The headquarters of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Beirut. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Education Minister Rima Karami was accused on Wednesday by the online news platform Megaphone News of attempting to "silence" teachers after she issued a circular reminding public education sector employees not to speak to the media without official authorization.
However, the circular simply reiterates a provision of the Civil Service Statute, as outlined in Decree No. 112/1959, a point emphasized by the Minister's advisor, Albert Chamoun, in comments to L'Orient-Le Jour.
Article 15 of the decree prohibits civil servants from "making statements or publishing articles without the written authorization of the head of the administration to which they are attached." Karameh's circular reminds Ministry employees, including school and institute heads, of this rule and urges them to refrain from media statements without prior official authorization.
"Education Minister begins reform by silencing teachers" Megaphone reacted on Wednesday.
"This raises questions about restricting citizens' freedoms and rights to expose corruption," wrote one user on social network X.
The Megaphone News platform acknowledged that this warning is part of a circular, "which addressed adherence to administrative regulations." In her circular, the Lebanese minister also stressed the need to coordinate efforts and collaborate to "achieve the desired goals of the reform and rescue government," according to the platform.
In Lebanon, various categories of civil servants and public officials face restrictions on public declarations, especially regarding sensitive matters or issues within their professional scope. The military, security forces, judges and members of the judiciary are generally prohibited from making public statements without prior authorization.
A similar controversy arose in October 2023 when former Justice Minister Henri Khoury issued a circular prohibiting magistrates from "appearing in the media and expressing opinions without prior authorization."
At the time, the Judges' Club defied this instruction, continuing to release statements on social media and in the media that criticized a judiciary plagued by political interference. Meanwhile, Ghada Aoun, Attorney General at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal, was summoned multiple times before the Judicial Council for publicly taking positions on certain cases.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient Le-Jour.
