Association of Full-Time Professors at the Lebanese University: Approving the Full-Time File is a Need for the University

Issued by the Executive Body of the Association of Full-Time Professors at the Lebanese University, the following statement:

The Executive Body of the Association of Full-Time Professors at the Lebanese University held a meeting during which it discussed several files and issues concerning the university at all levels and issued the following statement:

• Approving the full-time file for hourly contracted colleagues who meet the conditions is a need for the university and provides them with the minimum of job, social, and financial stability. In this context, the body calls on all concerned parties, including the university presidency, the Minister of Education, and the government, to complete the necessary steps to implement the Council of Ministers' decision, which authorized the Lebanese University to contract full-time with a number of professors in four batches starting September 1, 2026, while respecting the principle of efficiency, need, and national balance.

• The necessity of expediting the appointment of permanent deans in addition to two individuals recognized for their scientific competence in preparation for forming the University Council according to the applicable procedures. In this context, the Executive Body calls on the university presidency and the Minister of Education to take the necessary actions in this regard according to legal procedures.

• After the Parliamentary Education Committee positively discussed the proposed law aimed at raising the retirement age of faculty members at the Lebanese University to 68 years, the body calls on the Parliament to approve the proposed law, with retroactive effect, which provides the university with the benefit of professors' expertise in teaching and scientific research, and opens the way for them to secure the required years of service to obtain or improve the retirement pension.

• The Executive Body discussed the state of affairs regarding living, financial, and economic conditions, and the body adopted all the demands of the Public Sector Unions Assembly, especially what was stated in its latest statement.

• The Executive Body discussed the proposed law that permits renewing the term of the President of the Lebanese University, which was recently approved by the Parliamentary Education Committee, and noted the following:

The philosophy and spirit of Law No. 66/2009 regulating academic councils in the Lebanese University are based on the principle of power rotation and preventing the concentration of decision-making in the hands of one individual, due to its importance in establishing good governance. Hence, Law 66/2009 (based on a proposal from the University Council and with effective participation of the Association) amended some provisions of Law No. 75/1967 regulating the Lebanese University, specifically those that allowed renewal for consecutive terms without interruption, and thus abolished the principle of renewal for everyone (the university president, college deans, and branch directors) except after the lapse of a full term, thereby enshrining the principle of rotation and academic democracy.

Based on the foregoing, the Executive Body considers that the amendment made in the Parliamentary Education Committee affects the essence of Law 66/2009 and the academic and administrative balances it established. If amendments or reforms affecting this law are necessary, they must be carried out comprehensively and according to procedures, with the participation of the University Council (after its formation) and the Association of Full-Time Professors at the Lebanese University as two parties that must have a fundamental say in proposing the necessary amendments. Accordingly, the Executive Body calls for not approving this amendment to preserve the philosophy and spirit of this law and the balances it established.