Karami Chairs Meeting to Discuss Education Sector Response After Damage

Minister of Education and Higher Education Reema Karami chaired a meeting with associations partnering with the ministry on the National Response Plan for the Education Sector, attended by Director General of Education Fadi Yarak, Director of Guidance and Orientation Dr. Hilda Khoury, and representatives from international partner organizations and associations working on the ground.

After the national anthem and an introduction by Coordinator Edith Khalifa, the Ministry's focal point officer and head of non-formal education, Julien Jalakh, presented a report on the impact of the war on the educational sector and the conversion of numerous schools into shelter centers. He referred to "the Ministry's plan which focused on ensuring continuity of education despite damaged schools at various levels, ranging from light and moderate damage to severe damage such as demolished schools."

He also discussed "the Ministry's strategy in light of the return of many displaced persons to Syria, types of response through formal and non-formal education, consequently types of assessment, and measuring gaps and learning loss."

There were also remarks by representatives from UNICEF and Save the Children regarding the needs of the educational sector based on the Ministry's 2040 Vision, enhancing methods of access to education, and training national staff in cooperation with partners.

Karami

For her part, Karami said: "We meet at a critical moment for education in Lebanon. Following another devastating war, our schools, teachers, children, and families face immense challenges. Since March, 436 educational facilities have been damaged and 39 others destroyed, while teachers have been martyred or injured. Approximately one hundred thousand learners in areas affected by the war have been unable to return to their schools."

She added: "But you did not retreat; rather, you moved forward. Through the Lebanon Response Plan, urgent appeals, and the 2026 annex, you stood alongside the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Today, seventy-five organizations are submitting support requests through the 2027 Lebanon Response Plan. You stood with us in the return strategy and respected a principle I hold dear: one vision under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. The Ministry leads and sets priorities and standards. You chose to follow that leadership, whether on the ground or in this hall. On behalf of the Ministry, I thank you, and I thank the teachers, school principals, and staff of supporting partners who maintained the continuity of learning inside classrooms, in shelter centers, teaching and learning stations, and partnership centers: we see your work and appreciate it truly."

Karami continued: "Today we have a clearer picture, as the war impact assessment, the national diagnostic assessment, and the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reveal the repercussions of the war and fundamental learning gaps in our official educational system, many of which existed before the war and have now become more urgent. Together, these indicators lead us to one essential conclusion: we must not only restore our schools but also restore learning itself. Hence, we must move from evidence to action, as the Ministry of Education and Higher Education's 2040 Vision focuses on transforming the learner's educational environment between 2025 and 2040. It includes seven domains: equitable infrastructure, resources, and digital access; excellence in teaching and learning; learner well-being, protection, health, and psychosocial support; participatory leadership for improved learning; parental partnership and coordinated roles to support learning; and partnership with the local community and diaspora, scientific research, and professional partnerships for capacity building. We have translated this vision into strategic objectives for the current academic year, starting from education and learning for all to social cohesion and well-being."

She indicated that "a restored school is not necessarily an operational school, and an operational school is not necessarily a place where children learn. For this reason, rehabilitation and operational recovery must go hand in hand, guided by clear priorities, joint actions, and transparent monitoring. Emergency response is not a bypass of the vision, but the first mile on the road. A school safely reopened, a child returning to learning, a teacher receiving psychosocial support: each of these steps counts as a step toward 2040, if planned as such."

Karami concluded: "Our children do not measure time in project cycles, but in school years, and every one of them is precious. Therefore, let us not measure our success solely by the number of schools we reopen, but by the number of children who return to safe classrooms and truly learn."