Adapting to adversity: How Lebanese students continue learning amidst conflict in southern Lebanon

3^min

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Between the rubble and destruction in Beit Lif, Batoul, a student, emerged from her damaged home and sought refuge at the public school in Tyre. There, she lives and learns.

From her "displacement room," Batoul walks with her brother to join the class, where she continues her academic pursuits in person.

However, despite their determination to learn, Batoul and other students in the southern border villages are not enviable in their educational situation or exam preparations.

Like Batoul, Aya, a displaced individual from Khiam to Nabatieh, continues her class studies online, facing challenges such as internet issues and the impact of news about bombings and the sounds thereof.

On the side of the town of Khiam, which is exposed to daily Israeli shelling, students in Marjaayoun face study challenges amidst war, bombings, and online education.

According to figures, about 75 schools and vocational institutes are closed in the South and Nabatieh due to the war, directly affecting around 18,000 students.

More than 5,500 laptops and tablets have been distributed to teachers and students to support online learning in collaboration between the Ministry of Education, UNICEF, UNESCO, and some donor countries.

According to the Ministry of Education, the Baccalaureate Certificate exams will proceed, including students from the South and Nabatieh.

The Center for Educational Research and Development is working on assessing the progress of lessons in Nabatieh and the South to streamline the official exams in these provinces, meaning reducing the number of required lessons in each subject.

Exams in these provinces will occur at a time different from the rest of Lebanon, in centers located away from hot zones. All matters are contingent on the security situation in the south at that time.

As for the Intermediate Certificate (Brevet), the Ministry seeks cabinet approval to cancel the Intermediate Certificate exams and replace them with a unified exam in schools that will undertake the corrections.

Lessons will also be condensed, and specific schools away from hot zones will be designated to organize the unified exams.