I have to teach subjects other than the subject I am in charge of, and although it is hard work, my salary is drastically reduced and I am self-sufficient in purchasing chalk. In Lebanon, teachers who have lost their motivation due to the drastic deterioration of working conditions are flowing out of the country. Many have been invited to a favorable post to the United Arab Emirates
Educational sites have been devastated in Lebanon after a three-year economic crisis. Teachers' strikes have closed many schools for months in a row, causing families to send their children to work instead of going to school, and dropout rates are skyrocketing.
Elementary school teacher Dian Akir (26) also moved to a teaching profession in Dubai because he was in an “unbearable” situation. Still, her decision to abandon her job in her native city of Saida was painful, she says.
"I taught my students the importance of nationalism and making sacrifices for their home country. I am now in another country and remember this country's national anthem to teach new students. I feel like a hypocrite, "says Achill.
The Lebanese economy has been in a freefall state since 2019. The Lebanese pound has fallen by more than 90%, and accelerated inflation has made savings worthless. About three-quarters of the 6.7 million people are in poverty.
In the wake of this economic crisis, tens of thousands of highly skilled professionals such as doctors, nurses, researchers and business people have flowed out of Lebanon seeking work in other countries. Due to this brain drain, dark clouds are looming over the prospects for a long-term recovery in Lebanon.
According to a survey by local consultancy Information International, nearly 80,000 people left Lebanon last year, more than triple the previous year's level.
The effects of these mass escapes will cast a shadow over Lebanon's educational setting on a yearly basis. But for the time being, it's putting educators in a more dire situation.
According to the teachers, the labor shortage is serious even if they try to fill the vacancy, and one person is in charge of a huge number of students, and they have to take over the class, and even after returning home, they are busy preparing for the class.
A teacher at a private school in Beirut, the capital, says he is now taking English and science lessons instead of his original role of history to fill vacancies.
The Interim Education Minister Al-Harabi also admits a shortage of teachers.
"Currently, the supply of teachers is a major challenge. Unless we address it with realistic solutions, there will be a serious shortage of professionals in the education sector," Al-Harabi said. He also pointed out that job-changing mediators are aiming at Lebanese teachers to fill a favorable post in the UAE.
Many teachers complain that they can't even afford gasoline for commuting. However, the government has repeatedly rejected the wage increase request, saying that raising the salary of teachers would require raising the wages of civil servants in all departments.
Lebanon's education sector is considered to be one of the best in the Middle East, and was once ranked 10th in the world in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.
But at least 700,000 of the 2 million school-age children and students in Lebanon were unable to attend school for at least part of last year, according to estimates by humanitarian education agencies. In some areas, the ratio of child labor has reached 45%.
According to a United Nations survey, school enrollment rates among young people aged 15-24 have fallen from 60% in 2020-21 to 43% this year.
There are many realistic hurdles even for those who are enrolled in school. It is difficult to finish homework because power outages often continue for more than 20 hours every day, and transportation costs for commuting to school are rising.
Carla, a 17-year-old student, says, "I'm always wondering how many hours I can use electricity at home. I often see unemployed people, and I'm always discouraged."
With the economic crisis in its fourth year, there is little reason to be optimistic for both students and teachers.
Dayana Mudalal, 28, from Lebanon, who taught physics at a school in Beirut, left her job to take up a teaching job in Abu Dhabi. She said she felt she had no choice but to relocate.
By the time 2021 was reached, he said, "I wasn't motivated to teach, and I couldn't make a living as a teacher. My life wasn't stable and I didn't have any money."
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