Public school teachers during a sit-in in Tripoli on Dec.17, 2025. (Credit: Photo provided by our correspondent Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Union of Public Basic Education Teachers listed in a statement on Monday several demands to Cabinet related to their "pressing economic reality," warning against "continued procrastination and delay."
As the war between Hezbollah and Israel exacerbates the situation, the Union said that it will "resort to escalatory measures, the least of which would be boycotting the official examinations", if their demands are not met, according to the statement, relayed by our correspondent in the South.
The Union first called the government to commit to finding a "quick and appropriate solution regarding the six salaries it had previously approved and to disburse them to those entitled as soon as possible." In February, ministers approved an additional raise equivalent to six times the base salary for all civil servants, in addition to increases already introduced since the start of the crisis.
The Union also stressed the "need to provide urgent social assistance to teachers and all public sector workers to help confront the severe crisis affecting everyone."
Furthermore, it called the education ministry to "take into account the specific conditions of schools and secondary institutions located in unsafe areas, considering the living, health, and psychological circumstances of teachers and students."
Moreover, the Union stressed the necessity of "approving full contracts for contracted teachers from the beginning of March until the end of the academic year, as the interruption of teaching was not their choice but imposed by the war."
"Since the government continues to make appointments, recruit staff, and run state affairs normally, there is nothing preventing it from approving the salary scale it had promised to pass before the end of March," the statement added.
On a separate note, the Union called on teachers to "resume the educational process in accordance with the mechanisms adopted by the ministry of education and to adhere to them," especially as the war, which started on March 2, "continues with no foreseeable end in the near term."
"We also call on the minister of education to declare a clear and final position regarding the official examinations, especially the intermediate certificate, in light of the difficult circumstances our country is going through," the Union added.
Around three weeks after the start of the war, the Education Minister, Rima Karameh, said the ministry "began implementing a plan for gradual teaching to resume," as most public schools had suspended classes and had been hosting people displaced by Israeli attacks and threats.
The war between Hezbollah and Israel has displaced over one million people, mainly from southern Lebanon, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut. According to the health ministry, Israeli attacks had killed more than 2,000 people, and injured more than 6,700 so far.
Lebanon’s public education sector has been battered by the financial and economic crisis that erupted in 2019, followed by the coronavirus pandemic and the 2023–2024 and 2026 wars between Hezbollah and Israel. Teachers had staged multiple strikes over the past year, way before the outbreak of the current war.
Israel continues attacks on southern Lebanon, demolishes buildings in Bint Jbeil