Lebanese Basic Education Contracted Teachers' Association Rejects Minister Karamy's Exclusion of Representatives

The Lebanese Basic Education Contracted Teachers' Association responded to a statement issued by Minister of Education and Higher Education Rima Karamy regarding her recent meeting with representatives of educational bodies to discuss the official examinations file. The association noted that the minister's statement limited the meeting to representatives from secondary education, raising serious questions about the exclusion of other relevant educational bodies, particularly representatives of teachers directly involved in supervising official exams, as well as representatives of parents' committees, who are primary stakeholders in this matter. The association recalled that the Parliamentary Education Committee, chaired by Dr. Hassan Murad, had invited all these parties without exception to discuss the examinations file during its session at the Parliament.

Furthermore, the association highlighted the mention of Ms. Montaha Fawaz as the representative of contracted secondary education teachers in the minister’s statement. They asserted that the recognized representative known for following up on the contracted teachers' issues and defending their rights is Mr. Hamza Mansour, who is widely acknowledged as the representative of the contracted secondary education teachers' movement. In contrast, Ms. Montaha Fawaz has not been known to play any active or representative union role in this context, nor has she held any leadership or representative position within the contracted teachers' union movement in secondary education. Her involvement has been limited to conveying some administrative decisions—especially those related to the timing of teachers’ dues transfers—from the ministry to the teachers, within internal ministry relations. The ministry aimed to establish her as a supportive voice against opposing voices rather than as a representative legitimately mandated by the union.

The association questioned why Mr. Hamza Mansour, known for representing contracted secondary education teachers, was excluded from the meeting, while another name was presented as their official representative on the Ministry of Education’s official page.

They viewed this exclusion as inseparable from the political stance toward the ministry's decisions, noting that Mr. Mansour opposes the minister’s decisions related to official examinations, whereas Ms. Fawaz supports them. The minister’s exclusion of Mr. Mansour and replacement with a teacher lacking union credentials or activism—evident from the news archives—reflects a clear pattern of selective exclusion: on one side, silencing dissenting voices, and on the other, excluding all representatives of contracted teachers at both secondary and basic education levels.

The association acknowledged that while they agree and disagree with Mr. Mansour on many issues, and despite the fact that he has never shown solidarity with the association during several injustices, including the unfair dismissal of the association’s president, Dr. Nisreen Shaheen, they remain committed to defending free speech, respecting union representation, and rejecting the ministry’s unilateral exclusionary approach.

They expressed regret that Minister Karamy believed she could cancel a union representative and impose another name, granting legitimacy through official mentions, as if unaware that legitimacy in representation derives from the rights holders themselves. The minister also appears to disregard the Council of State’s decision, which, although it suspended a previous ban on expression issued by her, fundamentally conveyed a clear message about the sanctity of free speech. Otherwise, such a decision would not have been made to grant representational status to a teacher representing only herself, while summoning her alongside representatives of school unions with actual ground representation. The association questioned the criteria the minister relied upon, concluding that the sole standard seems to be insistence on fragmenting the picture and retaliating where possible.

The association called on public opinion to take note of these practices, emphasizing that their statements are as clear as daylight and undisputed within the official educational sector, especially among union circles. They invited those interested in further information to consult the concerned parties. The current situation confirms that the issue is no longer confined to the official examinations file but demonstrates that Minister Karamy has surpassed her predecessors in using authority to assert the correctness of her decisions regardless of the cost. While the association provided one example among many, the videos of directors supporting her decisions posted on the Ministry of Education’s page, contrasted with the silencing of directors opposing her decisions, constitute a case worthy of further investigation.

The association concluded by affirming that vindictiveness and arbitrariness in managing educational files neither build a ministry, nor education, nor a nation.