UNESCO’s Everlasting Support Towards the Li Beirut Initiative: Mobilizing Resources, Support, and Partnerships for Lebanon’s Five-Year Education Plan

Analysis by Maria Wehbe, Staff Writer

November 30th, 2021

On November 10th, 2021, the Lebanese Minister of Education and Higher Education Abbas El Halabi along with UNESCO’s education officials held a meeting at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris with high-level representatives from the UNESCO Member States, in margin of the 41st Session of the General Conference. It is worth mentioning that Mr. El Halabi is a former judge, vice-chairman of the Board of Directors, and Legal Counsel of the Bank of Beirut and the Arabic Countries (BBAC), as well as a former professor at the Saint Joseph University of Beirut (USJ). The main goal behind said meeting was to mobilize international partnerships and resources as well as institutional and technical support towards the enhancement of the Five-Year General Education Plan for Lebanon (5YP) and reinforcement of support towards the Li Beirut Initiative. In fact, the Li Beirut Initiative was launched in the aftermath of the devastating 4th of August Beirut Port Explosion, on August 27th, 2020, by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. Its main purpose is to support the rehabilitation of schools, historic heritage buildings, museums, galleries, and the creative industry, all of which endured extreme damage. Also, the 5YP was launched in August of 2021 by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, one year after the deadly explosion, with specialized expertise coming from the UNESCO Beirut Office as well as the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning, all of which took place during UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini’s visit.

The 5YP is the first nationally led education sector plan of its kind in Lebanon: it will lead to a more resilient education system through coordinated action around strategic objectives and critical reforms. Indeed, the Lebanese Education Sector has been suffering quite a lot and is at risk of complete collapse, and if amendments and reform aren’t implemented soon, the damage might be indefinitely beyond repair. Children are the future and the hope that is left for this country, and without proper and equitable education, that will disappear into thin air. Speaking of equitable education, this is why the plan focuses on the public sector: because it is very much under-funded and isn’t cared for as much as the private sector in Lebanon. The plan focuses on seeking collaborations with the private school sector on opportunities that aim to improve the learning outcomes of the school curriculum as well as providing an agenda for public-private school initiatives that hopefully will bring about innovation regarding proper education services all over the country. In fact, in 2019, there was a total of 1252 public schools, and out of that total, 328 schools had bad building conditions and only 468 schools had good building conditions. As well, one of the biggest issues faced in public schools is the lack of supervision over them as well as the employment of non-specialized contract teachers, which diminishes quality education. In the signed letter of intent, UNESCO committed itself to providing additional specialized support to the 5YP, through technical assistance that would provide aid harmonization, high-quality coordination, monitoring, progress reporting, and evaluation.

In his speech, Minister El Halabi stated: “With the 5YP, we are moving from a crisis response mode into medium and long-term interventions. Our 5YP is the bearer of an inclusive global approach, the preservation of the quality of education in the public and private sectors but also the sustainability of the present economic models. This plan will provide equal opportunities for all children residing on Lebanese territory to access quality education, and fully takes into account marginalized or vulnerable populations, migrant students or students in need”. Indeed, the 5YP is clearly working on one of the main problems that most sectors in Lebanon face: implementing long-term solutions. Most solutions for the different sectors in Lebanon are usually short-term in the grand scheme of things, and so vouching for longer-term solutions will increase the sectors’ sustainability. He also added: “We are in the process of developing a similar plan for higher education with the support of UNESCO, but I am well aware that the action of the Ministry is largely dependent on the technical and financial involvement of all donors and that their support to the school sector is essential and decisive in the national reconstruction process. The preservation and development of our national education system, as well as the future of all our children, are my top priorities, hence the importance of the coordination role of UNESCO”.

Also, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General of Education, Stefania Giannini, reminded that: “there is a genuine risk of a learning catastrophe in Lebanon; vulnerable children and youth may never return to school. As an international community, we cannot let this happen. We must urgently work together to put the Lebanese education system back on track by protecting and increasing financing to the sector. The country requires a mid to long-term strategy that prioritizes education as a driver of sustainable development. With the 5YP, we have a well-designed, realistic, and comprehensive strategy to meet the needs of Lebanon’s children and youth. The presence of one inclusive sector-wide education response plan led and owned by the Government and signed off by all key partners is the only solution to effectively address the complexity of the current crisis.”. It does not come as a surprise that the education sector is very much threatened: teachers are being laid off because schools can no longer afford to pay them, and for those that are still standing, their salary is worth less than $90 a month today. This is such a shame because Lebanon’s Education Sector used to be one of the best in the World, as it was once ranked tenth globally and was prized throughout the Middle East as a regional leader according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report.

Over the years, Lebanon has been responding to major shocks across its different sectors: a refugee crisis, which brought over 1.2 million Syrians displaced in the country between 2011 and 2015. After that came the socio-economic instability as of 2019, coupled with, the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadly port explosion, the hyperinflation, the devaluation of the Lebanese Pound and so much more. The devastating impact of the Beirut Port blasts added yet another unfavorable dimension to the very hazardous situation today. A growing proportion of children living in Lebanon is at risk of losing or even ever receiving their right to quality education, one of the most fundamental human rights, if not the most important one. After all: “Education is the mother of leadership”, said  Wendell Willkie. This is why it is vital that UNESCO keeps reinforcing its support to the Li Beirut Initiative and Lebanon’s 5YP, because as Nasser Faqih, who was a special guest of the event representing the Director of Education Cannot Wait, Yasmine Sherif, said: “Lebanon needs the world’s attention. This 5YP provides a roadmap and incentive for the international community to concretely support children and youth on the soils of Lebanon to access a continuous quality education, which is a fundamental requirement for Lebanon to stay strong and rebuild its future. This is the opportunity to show international solidarity. If not now, when?”.