Education Minister Rima Karameh, at a school hosting families displaced by Israeli attacks, on March 21, 2026. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Education Minister Rima Karameh said Saturday that the ministry "began implementing a plan for gradual teaching to resume," as most public schools have suspended classes and are hosting people displaced by Israeli attacks and threats.
"The ministry is maintaining contact with families in affected areas, mainly in southern Lebanon," Karameh said during a visit to a public school in Amchit (Jbeil district), which is hosting 93 people displaced from the Nabatieh and Bekaa districts.
"A crisis cell has also been set up within the ministry, which follows developments daily and assesses the situation of families in order to respond to their needs," she said, adding that the ministry is also working with donors "to provide educational materials at home in unsafe areas, to improve the quality of distance education and lesson delivery."
Regarding higher education, the minister said the Lebanese University and several other institutions are prioritizing distance learning until conditions allow a return to in-person classes. The same applies to many schools, particularly those requisitioned to host displaced people, which are expected to gradually reopen if conditions allow.
Karameh also said she will review "over the next two weeks the issue of official exams, after ensuring the continuity of the education process for all students."
Israeli attacks and threats have displaced over one million people since the start of the war on March 2, mainly from southern Lebanon, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut. According to the Health Ministry, as of Thursday, Israeli attacks had killed more than 1,000 people, including more than 118 children.
Karameh also met with displaced families and listened to their living conditions and concerns. "This visit is symbolic and aims to express the government's support for displaced families. It carries a clear message that the state stands with its citizens, is aware of the scale of the challenges they face, and is doing its best to meet their needs," she said, paying tribute to mothers ahead of Mother’s Day in Lebanon, "for their resilience and sacrifice in these difficult circumstances, as they continue to support their families and preserve their cohesion."
She said educational staff, in coordination with the Ministry of Social Development, "continue to play a central role in responding to the needs of affected families through an integrated team providing on-the-ground follow-up."
Karameh also commented on President Joseph Aoun’s initiative to end the war. She hopes he will "reach a solution through diplomatic channels in a complex regional context."
The minister was received by local officials, including the head of the disaster management cell in Jbeil district, deputy governor Nathalie Merhi Khoury, Amchit municipal council member Zafer Sleiman representing municipal president Joseph Khoury, local officials Bassem Khalifeh, Tony Lahoud and Wadih Nawfal, regional education head Gilbert Sokhon, and school principal Claudie Bassil.
