Teachers Syndicate After Celebrating the Cancellation of Exams: A Deplorable and Humiliating Scene!

The Teachers Syndicate expressed its regret "for what some Beirut squares witnessed of celebrations over the decision to cancel the official exams, after it became impossible to hold them for the reasons announced by the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Dr. Rima Karami, which placed public opinion before an educational, administrative, and security reality that cannot be ignored," considering it "a deplorable and humiliating scene against Lebanese education and its honorable history, and against the entire educational body of teachers, principals, administrators, and everyone who has carried the message of public and private schools in Lebanon for decades."

The Syndicate stated, in a statement, that "this scene cannot be viewed as a passing detail, but rather a dangerous expression of the low point to which the political authority has brought the education sector in Lebanon." It asked: "Is this the image of the Lebanese student that we want? Is this the model that awaits the decision to cancel the exam to go out into the street celebrating? And are these the same Lebanese students who have always raised the name of Lebanon in universities, laboratories, and institutions around the world?"

It added: "Unfortunately, the answer is no. The honorable image we knew of the Lebanese student has been distorted today by this shameful scene in some Beirut squares, a scene that does not reflect the history of education in Lebanon, nor the value of the official certificate, nor the meaning of academic merit."

While holding the Council of Ministers "fully responsible for what matters have come to," the Syndicate saw that "what happened is not merely a failure in managing the exams file, but the result of a long accumulation of confused policies, leading to the distortion of the value of the Lebanese certificate in the awareness of students and public opinion. Reaching a moment where the cancellation of the exam becomes an occasion for celebration is a serious warning of the extent of the collapse that has afflicted the view of education and the magnitude of the responsibility on those who managed this file."

The Syndicate renewed its call to "restore the prestige of the Lebanese school, official exams, and the value of effort and merit, away from populism, improvisation, and calls that do not build a nation or protect a future."