Education Minister Rima Karameh visiting Marjayoun in south Lebanon, on Feb. 24, 2026. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — The education ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that it has secured funding from UNICEF to cover overdue payments for substitute teachers, mechanization workers, and school and secondary school guards in public institutions, with disbursement to follow once administrative procedures are completed.
The ministry said the move comes “based on the Cabinet’s decision approving the ministry’s request to exceptionally disburse the entitlements of contracted teachers that teach Syrian refugees, as well as staff working in public schools, secondary schools, and institutes, for the period of forced closure until the end of the aggression and the safe return, pending the adoption of the draft law submitted to Parliament for the same purpose.”
It added that Education Minister Rima Karameh contacted donor agencies to secure the necessary funds, and succeeded in obtaining them from UNICEF, which subsequently requested lists of the beneficiaries from the ministry.
According to the statement, payments will be processed and disbursed once the required administrative procedures are finalized. A source at the ministry told L'Orient Today they don't have the exact number of the fund yet because they are still determining the need.
UNICEF Lebanon told L’Orient Today that the support mentioned by the ministry falls under the existing Transition and Resilience Education Fund (TREF), launched in 2022, through which the agency channels payments requested by the Education Ministry. It said the final amount has yet to be determined and will be disbursed once beneficiary data is verified and administrative procedures are completed.
Public school staff in Lebanon are facing a severe financial crisis, with salaries losing nearly 90% of their value since the 2019 economic crisis. Monthly salaries, often less than $30 in base value, are supplemented by precarious, irregular "productivity allowances" and donor aid. This has triggered frequent, long-lasting strikes over pay.
