Ministry of Education Statement on Proposal for Automatic Promotion of Transitional Grades

Issued by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, a statement on the proposal for automatic promotion of transitional grades reads: "In response to the repeated urgent bill proposing automatic advancement of students to the next grade, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education affirms that safeguarding students' right to education and their educational future remains at the core of its responsibilities. Addressing the impact of exceptional circumstances on education cannot be achieved through mere formal promotion, but through ensuring students acquire the knowledge and competencies they need to succeed and continue their academic journey."

It continued: "Automatic promotion for all students, including those who have not met transition requirements, does not address learning gaps; instead, it may carry these deficiencies forward into higher grades, making remediation more difficult. A student who has not acquired essential competencies in one stage will struggle to understand what is built upon them in the next stage. Moreover, equity and equal opportunity do not mean uniform outcomes or equating students who met transition criteria with those who did not. Rather, they mean guaranteeing every student’s right to learn under clear standards, providing support and remediation for those who need it, while simultaneously preserving the value of effort, perseverance, and achievement among students who have met required competencies."

The ministry highlighted "a fundamental contradiction in the proposal itself: on one hand, it acknowledges that promotion does not exempt students from completing competencies, yet on the other, it mandates a recovery program and diagnostic assessment, then prohibits the assessment result from influencing promotion. If the proposal admits that some students have not acquired certain competencies, the proper educational response begins with identifying and addressing these gaps—not by treating advancement to the next grade as predetermined." The ministry stressed that it "has fulfilled and continues to fulfill its duties and responsibilities in confronting the challenges facing the education sector, without shirking necessary measures to ensure continuity of education and access to learners, in cooperation with the Educational Research and Development Center and other relevant educational bodies. It is also working to address learning gaps based on scientific and pedagogical principles that respect students’ diverse needs and levels."

It added: "Therefore, addressing any educational flaw should not involve replacing academic and pedagogical evaluation with a general legislative rule that automatically promotes all students regardless of their transition eligibility. While the Parliament exercises its legislative authority, the Constitution assigns executive power to the Council of Ministers, entrusting ministers with managing state affairs and implementing laws and regulations within their respective domains. In the educational field, evaluation, competency assessment, and determining whether a student meets transition criteria remain pedagogical and technical matters handled by competent bodies according to established laws and procedures. Success or failure is not a political decision, but the outcome of an academic and evaluative process whose integrity and value must be preserved."

It stated: "The proposal comes after the academic year has already begun, results have been finalized, students have been registered and assigned to classes, and schools have developed their programs and teaching plans based on these results. Reopening and altering results retroactively would cause confusion among students, parents, and schools, necessitating reassignment of classes and modification of curricula after the school year has started. This becomes even more complex for students following foreign curricula, due to differences in competency sequences, content, assessment systems, promotion rules, certification requirements, and associated educational institutions. Applying a single promotion rule to all such systems without accounting for each system’s unique characteristics is educationally unsound and demands special attention. Addressing learning loss is an educational responsibility based on diagnosis, remediation, support, and strengthening foundational competencies according to individual student needs. Some students may require minimal support, while others may need longer pathways to rebuild essential competencies. Thus, it is impossible to reduce diverse situations to a single solution based on universal promotion."

It emphasized "the necessity of respecting the freedom of education and the autonomy of private educational institutions within constitutional, legal, and procedural frameworks, while maintaining the quality of education and established evaluation and promotion standards—especially after educational institutions have completed assessments, registration, and class assignments."

The statement concluded: "The Ministry of Education and Higher Education, aware of the difficulties faced by students and schools during Lebanon’s recent challenges, reaffirms its commitment, in collaboration with the Educational Research and Development Center and other relevant educational institutions, to fully carry out its responsibilities in addressing learning gaps and developing appropriate support and integration programs based on scientific and pedagogical principles that consider students’ diverse needs and levels. The ministry calls for placing students’ best interests and their educational futures above all else, making them the primary and foundational criterion for any approach or decision regarding their academic path. All authorities and institutions must unite their efforts to protect students’ right to quality, sound education. National responsibility demands that the goal is not merely moving a student from one class to another, but enabling them to acquire the knowledge and competencies needed for success, continuity, and building their future."