Association of Contractual Teachers in Basic Education: No to Strike, Yes to Fair Exams and Educational and Union Pressure

The Association of Contractual Teachers in Basic Education in Lebanon (CTLP) indicated in a statement that "Lebanon is going through a sensitive phase, where the Lebanese stand at a fateful crossroads, under a fragile truce that remains unable to secure the minimum of stability. The educational sector stands before what can be called an educational truce that is likely to turn into an entry point for further educational disintegration, threatening what remains of the academic year, and putting the fate of official and school exams and student results at stake."

The statement pointed out that "the administrative body of the Association of Contractual Teachers met and discussed these challenges based on the opinions of contractual teachers in various Lebanese governorates. The discussion centered around official and school exams, the mechanism for ending the academic year, living conditions, and the strike. It announced regarding the official exams (Brevet and Baccalaureate certificates):

The association calls for the cancellation of the official basic education certificate (Brevet) for this year, and replacing it with unified school exams. For secondary school certificate students, the association proposes one of two options:

- Conducting an official exam according to two standards: one for students who completed the curriculum, and another for students who faced difficulties.

- Or postponing the official exams for one month, accompanied by intensive teaching, followed by a unified exam.

- Or canceling them, and even if the decision to cancel is bitter, the matter is conducting a unified exam with a low evaluation level that strips the official certificate of its value, and makes the school certificate more evaluative of the required educational level at this stage, which means undermining the true concept of the official certificate.

Therefore, the Association of Contractual Teachers affirms its rejection of conducting a unified official exam for all secondary school students, to protect the credibility of the official certificate.

Regarding school exams (for non-official certificate grades), the association saw that "the trend towards conducting final exams in public schools for all educational levels under the current circumstances will lead to further fragmentation and injustice among students, especially with the differing conditions of schools between normal in-person education and struggling distance education, in addition to the fact that 15% of students are still outside the Ministry of Education's educational plan for several reasons, including the destruction of some schools, which makes conducting traditional final exams lacking sound educational standards.

Especially since the Minister of Education issued a circular stipulating conducting the third attempt exam:

- In schools that adopt in-person education.

- Sending students from schools housing displaced persons to other schools to take the exam.

- Conducting the exam via 'Teams' for students for whom alternative schools cannot be found.

This means fragmentation of students on one hand, and lack of credibility on the other, and most importantly, a large number of these students do not follow education regularly."

Accordingly, the Association of Contractual Teachers demanded "not conducting final exams in public schools for this year for non-certificate grades, and replacing them with conducting an entrance exam at the beginning of the next academic year, allowing students an additional period for review and catching up on educational loss, and ensuring a fairer and more realistic evaluation."

Regarding strikes and media circulation, the association affirmed "the necessity of being accurate in transmitting information related to strikes. If these strikes were not and will not be implemented in public schools, they are only media material."

The Association of Contractual Teachers announced "non-compliance with the strike last week, and that happened, as a large percentage of schools did not comply with the strike, or the strike was limited to tenured teachers, due to coordination between the Association of Contractual Teachers and some principals who had the same position on the ineffectiveness of the strike at this time. Today, the association affirms non-compliance with the strike on Wednesday and Thursday, May 6 and 7, for the following reasons:

- The academic year is nearing its end and we are in an exam week.

- Half of the public schools are struggling or dysfunctional.

- Any pressure at this time does not achieve an educational or living goal."

The association affirmed that "this strike is not based on sound union or educational logic, and will not comply with it," stressing that "public schools with their teachers and students are not a tool in anyone's hand. A strike is a pressure card, how can this pressure be in the last days of school and with schools that are dysfunctional due to war? Or the 'freebie' strike from the pockets of contractual teachers (who will lose their daily bread on the strike days), what good is it?"

Regarding salaries and rights, the association denounced "the government's failure to implement the increase in teachers' and public sector salaries," pointing out that "teachers and employees are not responsible for the existing crises, and rejects being satisfied with postponement promises that are no longer acceptable in light of the living collapse, especially since the proposed increase (one and a half dollars on the contractual teachers' hourly wage) does not even cover a small part of the losses in the value of wages and the high cost of goods, food items, and the price of a gasoline can during the war."

Therefore, it demanded "the Ministers of Education and Finance and the government provide a temporary compensation of no less than $300 for each employee and teacher, as compensation for the high cost of living, to be immediate and monthly, until a fair salary scale is approved."

Regarding potential escalatory steps, the association announced that "if these issues are not addressed, it will move towards not participating in the official exams if they are held, and not submitting school grades, as a legitimate and peaceful means of pressure, in a circumstance that cannot tolerate any tampering with the fate of students or educational stability."

It concluded that "No to strike, no to exams that undermine the value of the official and school certificate. Yes to fair official and school exams, yes to educational and union pressure to approve a fair increase in salaries, and a governmental, educational, and national duty to approve a quick temporary compensation for teachers and public sector employees. Bear your responsibilities, otherwise you will all bear the responsibility of damaging the reputation of education in Lebanon, and the explosion of the street in search of a livelihood for the families of thousands of teachers and employees in the public sector."