Hassar Secondary School Students Transferred to Jbeil... Ministry of Education Clarification

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education issued a clarifying statement regarding Hassar Secondary School, which read as follows:

"In light of the data concerning the situation at Hassar Secondary School, and following a meeting held by Minister of Education and Higher Education Reema Karami with the education administration and directors of basic and secondary education, and in response to parents' demands to maintain secondary education in their town, and to allow time for regularizing the school's legal status, the Ministry of Education decided not to transfer all stages of secondary education in Hassar to Jbeil Secondary School.

Accordingly, it was decided to transfer Grade 12 students of all branches to Jbeil Secondary School, as their numbers do not meet the legal requirement for opening classes, while retaining Grade 10 and Grade 11 students in the building of Hassar Intermediate School, as they meet the number condition specified by law.

This decision comes in application of the law and to reduce operational costs, which were previously more than $8,000 per student per year if the operational cost of the building occupied by the secondary school and the cost of covering teachers' and staff expenses were calculated.

Moreover, the administrative and legal reality of Hassar Secondary School requires review and regularization. The secondary school is originally a branch of Jbeil Secondary School, and there are issues related to its license status. Additionally, the principal appointed at its founding by the then-Minister of Education has recently retired.

Thus, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has applied the prevailing laws regarding compliance with the required number for opening classes, while simultaneously working to reduce operational costs by occupying one building instead of two, distributing teachers' hours between Hassar and Jbeil secondary schools, limiting administration to Jbeil Secondary School, and seeking to provide subsidized transportation for Grade 12 students.

By retaining the two grades that meet legal requirements in the intermediate school building, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has opened the way for residents, local figures, and MPs of the area to play the necessary role in strengthening the secondary school and attracting more students to it in the next academic year, by encouraging their children to register at Hassar Secondary School for the coming year. The Ministry of Education will work to start registration early to give an opportunity to secure the necessary number of students, in parallel with regularizing the school's legal status, allowing it to reopen with all its classes once the required conditions are met.

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education emphasizes what Minister Karami stated in her recent press conference regarding responsible governance, which requires reviewing any decision when facts and data prove that modifying it better serves the interest of students, within respect for laws, educational standards, and good management of public resources.

The Ministry also confirms that the doors of the Minister of Education and Higher Education are open to parents and local figures in all towns without exception, for dialogue and joint work on regularizing the status of their schools and secondary schools, which helps maintain and strengthen them within the prevailing legal and educational conditions, and preserves students' right to quality and sustainable education."