The Lebanese Education Sector Revisited Part 3 - Lebanese Universities: cracking the case wide open

Analysis by Maria Wehbe, Staff Writer

February 5th, 2021

“Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.” – Marian Wright Edelman

Indeed, the main goal of education is to prepare students for becoming active citizens of society, so that they contribute to it as much as they can. 

With globalization having taken over and with a never-ending change of pace and way of life, it is important to review the educational sector every once in a while, so that students will still be able to fulfill their duty in the foreseeable future. 

UNESCO focuses on helping countries improve their educational institutions in order to ensure high quality education for everyone: this is done through reviewing legal frameworks, offering technical assistance regarding plans, curricula and teaching materials as well as disseminating guidelines on specific themes including technical and vocational training. 

Lebanese Universities are very prestigious: they are well-renowned all across the Middle East and have always had a reputation to uphold. In fact, so many students from the MENA region come to Lebanon to pursue their university studies. In 2012, 14% of students enrolled in the Higher Education Institutions were Non-Lebanese. 

Yet, as previously mentioned, when looking at what the UNESCO vouches for and what they aim to achieve, it does seem that Lebanese Universities could use some intervention in modifying their strategies. The fast-paced world requires us to acquire certain skills that are profoundly needed in the 21st century, and these skills should definitely be embedded in the curricula of these institutions. Moreover, Lebanon has endured a lot of turmoil over the past year or so, and Lebanese Universities have been paying the price.  

In this publication of the series, the main concerns that are tangled within the foundations of Lebanese Universities will be discussed in detail. 

In the UNESCO’s Education Strategy (2014-2021), the third “Education for All” goal is as follows: “Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programs.”

This goal stresses that young people and adults should have equal access to suitable education in order to avoid unemployment in the future, as the rates are rising rapidly. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case in Lebanon. Enrollment in Lebanese Universities has been decreasing over the last couple of years, despite the quality of education. This is because there is a lack in public higher education, with only one public university in the country, the Lebanese University. And so, a lot of students cannot afford to pursue their studies beyond high school. Because of the increase in tuition fees over the years, access to higher education in low-income households becomes more and more out of reach. 

In 2012, the gross enrollment rate (the number of students enrolled in universities, regardless of age, divided by the population of the official age group of higher education level) in Higher Education in Lebanon was 46.3 %, which is low compared to other countries, such as Australia, with a gross enrollment rate of 89% that same year. 

Even though these statistics are far from completely up to date (which is a concern of its own), not much has changed over the years: the situation has not improved but rather degenerating. 

COVID-19 only made the situation worse: higher education is more unaffordable than ever as the economic crisis worsens by the minute, and students can no longer withstand it. The economic crisis has led to many students changing their education paths.

Students could no longer withdraw money from the bank and the soaring inflation was not of any help either: “University education in Lebanon risks becoming exclusively accessible to the upper classes of the population, instead of being a fundamental right”, expressed Dima, a member of Mada and of AUB’s secular club.

Even though universities have been trying to help their students out, the amount of financial aid is still not enough to compensate for each and every student. Most students in Lebanon decide to enroll in private universities because they perceive them as having higher-quality education, which isn’t the case anywhere else in the world. In other countries, most students enroll in very good public universities. Let’s take the example of Australia, once again. In 2016, close to 1.46 million students were enrolled in higher education institutions, and more than 90% of these students were registered in public universities. 

Yet, even though the tuition fees do play a part in the unenrollment of students, it is not the only factor as many enroll in vocational and technical education, which guarantees a sooner entrance into the labor force than higher education does.

Once again, this goes back to what the UNESCO aims to improve, which is the state of vocational and technical education, since a lot of students pursue it in Lebanon.

As poverty rates are increasing, students unable to afford paying for Higher Education are doing whatever they can to enter the work force as soon as possible in order to be able to cover the expenses. This is a major concern because these young adults cannot pursue their desired course of education and therefore, may not be able to work in their preferred field. 

Education should be a right, and not a privilege: students are paying the price and are not being able to afford the education that they deserve, and this is not a prevailing problem in other countries around the world. 

In addition, online learning has not been going according to plan: Lebanon was not ready to shift to a complete online environment amidst the pandemic as the lack of infrastructure and accommodations did not facilitate the process whatsoever. The situation is very unsettling, as 

university staff, professors and students are eager to get back to campus.

Indeed, there are some essential tools that are needed for e-learning to be successful. These tools are, but are not limited to: a good-reliable computer or laptop, the computer peripherals (keyboard, mouse, noise-cancelling headphones/earphones, web-camera), an updated operating system and web browser, etc. 

Due to the economic crisis that keeps accumulating, a lot of students, and even professors, cannot afford to purchase such necessities, or might not have had them to begin with. University professors have been feeling the burden of the economic crisis as a lot of them are being laid off and their contracts aren’t being renewed. Universities have been standing alongside one another, asking the government to emphasize on the importance of keeping the educational sector strong, and so to push banks to let these institutions access more easily their own money, and especially to take foreign cash transfers. 

The government should not be overwhelming the universities more than they already are, but rather should facilitate the process of obtaining the money so that they can put it to good use: to help students continue their studies and for professors to keep their jobs and conduct classes with the appropriate materials and tools. 

As the situation in Lebanon keeps deteriorating, so does the state of Lebanese Universities and their students.

The educational sector serves as a major contributor to the Lebanese GDP. Even though this is true, this should not be causing students to drop out and to leave their university studies behind because they can no longer afford them, or because they need to enter the work field faster than Higher Education would let them. 

The concerns that are prevailing in Lebanon are of such critical nature that they are gravely affecting Lebanese universities across the country. After all, Lebanon is facing serious brain drain as a lot of students and faculty are leaving the country, because they believe that it is the only way to ensure that they will have a secured future.  

University students already have to worry about the economic crisis, the inflation rates, the pandemic and a lot of other concerns that occupy their minds: the last thing they should be worrying about is their education, as it should be provided to them as a basic human right. Education must come as a priority, before all else, since it is the means that is going to help these students overcome all other difficulties that life will throw at them: education is the way to bring order into the country, and these students should not be stripped of it.