Baccalaureate exams: Karami inspects examination centers in Saida, Sour

BEIRUT — Education Minister Rima Karami inspected Thursday examination centers in Saida and Sour, where official baccalaureate exams took place across all four specialities.

"We are standing firm with all forms of resilience, that's why I wanted my visit today to the South, which is dear to my heart, to be a message to the students who are taking the official secondary school certificate exams to tell them that we are by their side and proud of them," Karami said.

Karami was accompanied by a delegation from the Ministry, along with Ahmed Saleh, the head of education in the South, and Dheeb Fatouni, the head of examinations in the region. The tour included examination centers at Nazih al-Bizri Public High School, Maarouf Saad Public Intermediate School, and the Kuwaiti School.

Lebanon’s school year, battered by economic collapse since 2019 and interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, has also been disrupted by the war between Hezbollah and Israel, which escalated in September 2024. Populations have been displaced, hundreds of families remain unable to return home, and many schools — especially in the South — have been damaged or destroyed. Despite these challenges, 30 exam centers have opened in southern Lebanon, with two additional centers serving students with special needs.

"We are also counting on [students] so that their performance in these exams becomes a message to both enemy and friend and all the world that Lebanon is a steadfast and strong country and its children and students will remain attached to their greatest treasure, which is their knowledge, abilities and energies that all countries testify to wherever they go," the minister added.

Karami described the atmosphere of the exams in the schools she toured as comfortable, praising the efforts of those who planned and implemented the exams.

"Even the students, when I asked them, unanimously agreed with smiles that they are comfortable, and I hope that this atmosphere will be reflected in the remaining days of the exams," she noted.

Karami added that the correction process will be undertaken thoughtfully and responsibly, noting that the team responsible for correction made clear recommendations after a careful evaluation, which were fully taken into account.

"Our direction from the beginning was clear, which is to deal with the preparation of these exams with the utmost seriousness, so we made sure that students were given enough time to study, and that it was appropriate to what they were able to cover at this stage, and this is what really happened," the minister added.

Moreover, she noted that she tried today to visit some southern regions despite the difficulty of movement, adding: "Students in the South are taking their exams with determination despite all the challenges. Yesterday I was in Beirut and there were drones, as well as today in the south, but this did not prevent ... students from affirming their ability and steadfastness."

Israeli drones are frequently flying over southern Lebanese villages, Beirut and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes are targeting southern Lebanon on a near-daily in violation of the cease-fire agreement.