University of Lebanon Lecturers Committee Urges Salam to Include Leave File on Cabinet Meeting Agenda

The "Committee of Hourly Contracted Lecturers at the Lebanese University" wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam that "the file on the leave of contractual lecturers at the Lebanese University has now come under your responsibility, and today you hold a decision that can restore administrative and academic order to the university, do justice to lecturers who have fulfilled their duties for many years, and protect thousands of students from returning to the cycle of strikes and instability."

It stated: "You promised to approve the file, and we trust that this promise is binding on you, and that you view this file through the lens of justice, fairness, and institutional stability. However, we were surprised to see that the agenda for Thursday's cabinet session does not include the leave file, which raises our legitimate concerns—especially since the file is now in your hands, and we had expected your promise of approval to have moved into the implementation phase."

It added: "Continuing to delay the file means leaving the Lebanese University, its faculty, and its students in uncertainty, and reopening the door to strikes and movements we have long sought to avoid. Your promise, along with that of His Excellency the President of the Republic, was our assurance that this file would reach its conclusion. Today, we expect you, with the authority and responsibility you possess, to promptly place the file on the cabinet meeting agenda either as an addendum or during the session itself, and to make its approval one of your top priorities, consistent with your commitments to the lecturers and the university."

It concluded: "Mr. President, we rely on your promise and your responsibility at this critical stage, and we await from you a clear step that restores confidence among lecturers and stability to the Lebanese University and its students. Our trust in you is strong, and we hope your decision will match this national and academic responsibility."