Minister of Education: We Have a Flexible Plan for the Start of the School Year

Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr. Riya Karami visited the Nabatieh educational region as part of her southern tour, accompanied by a delegation including primary education director Georges Dawood, guidance and counseling director Dr. Hilda Khoury, administrative advisor Amal Shehab, and media advisor to the minister Albert Chamaa. They were welcomed by the Nabatieh educational district head Akram Abu Shqra, representatives from local MPs, South Council President Engineer Hashem Haydar, head of the Shaqif Municipalities Union Khalid Baddour al-Din, Nabatieh Mayor Abbas Fakhreddine, and directors of secondary and public and private schools in the Nabatieh region.

Karami toured the district offices and met with staff, commending their efforts and perseverance, especially under these difficult circumstances.

She then held a meeting with secondary and school directors who presented to her the risks and challenges they face at the start of the academic year amid continuous Israeli attacks and the tense, anxious atmosphere affecting families and students.

Mayors of Nabatieh and Shaqif, along with the educational district head, spoke about the conditions and hardships endured by the region due to daily escalation through artillery shelling and aerial raids.

"Today we came to steadfast Nabatieh, the city of determination, trust, and challenge, to be among our people and loved ones in this region that has always been on the front line. Naturally, we must speak from Nabatieh about the right to learning and education. We are in a city of scholars and thinkers—of Hassan Kamel al-Sabah, Rammal Rammal, Sheikh Ahmad Rida, Sheikh Suleiman Dahr, Sheikh Abdul Hussein Sadik, and many other intellectual and national figures who raised the name of the South and Lebanon high."

She added: "We are also in the context of the anniversary of the disappearance of His Eminence Imam Sayyed Musa al-Sadr, who was always concerned about students' deprivation and firmly believed that the future of the South and its children could only be built through knowledge. That is why he established institutions to support Southern students and safeguard their right to knowledge and education. From this city, which symbolizes the entire nation, and as the new academic year begins, I wish to emphasize from our position at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education that our top priority, before anything else, is the safety of our people and our children."

She continued: "We want our children to learn in a safe environment—physically, educationally, and psychologically. We will do everything within our power at the ministry, using all available resources and means, to ensure every student receives their natural right to education, just like any other student across Lebanon. Our children are our foremost and fundamental concern. Every student has the right to their classroom seat—a right preserved and guaranteed wherever they may be. Honestly, we rely heavily on you—the educators, schools and secondary institutions, institutes and vocational centers, educational organizations, and civil society. Because this is a national obligation, and we cannot succeed without all of us working together, cooperating, sharing ideas, and finding appropriate solutions for each region, each school, and each student."

She said: "Preserving our children’s right to education is a form of resilience, confrontation, and defiance. We could have chosen the easier path—staying at home, not going to our villages, cities, and towns, not opening our schools, not returning to work. But that is not our choice, nor is it the choice of the son of the South, who has grown up to be brave, strong, facing adversity, enduring hardship, and making sacrifices."

She added: "Therefore, the ministry has developed a flexible plan for launching the academic year—one that considers the specific situation of each school and secondary institution and takes into account the circumstances of every student. We do not seek one rigid decision applicable to everyone; instead, we aim for solutions that reflect reality, protect every child’s right to education, and ensure fairness among all students. In this regard, I recently met with several official and private educational institutions directly facing the frontline. What I sensed from them was very clear: there is determination, resolve, and a firm decision not to halt education, and to reopen our schools, secondary schools, institutes, and vocational centers whenever conditions allow, so that educational life can once again pulse anew."

She concluded: "We hope peace and stability will prevail throughout Lebanon, that all our people in the South return to their cities, villages, and towns, that our children return to their schools, and that life resumes anew—not just in the South, but throughout the veins of the nation."