Lebanon has to shut some schools that receive displaced students from Syria amid a lack of international funding, Lebanese Education Minister Abbas Halabi said.
“Donors were late in paying due funds for this academic year and the previous one, which will force us to cut down on the number of schools that receive refugee students,” Halabi added on Tuesday.
At present, many public schools in Lebanon are hosting refugee students from Syria in the afternoon shift, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Minister’s remarks came during his meeting with the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka.
Wronecka emphasised the importance of education, noting that education is necessary for the future. She pledged to exert all possible effort to secure the donations by following up with the UN in this regard.
As a result of Lebanon’s financial crisis, the country’s 2022-23 scholastic year was marked by learning disruptions for over two months, affecting hundreds of thousands of students as the government lacks the funds to pay teachers and staff.