The Teachers Syndicate in Lebanon clarified that it had stopped “in front of the proposed law that was oral to the hearing of deputies in the joint parliamentary committees on December 15, 2021, and to amend the work of Article (2) of Law 515 of 6/6/1996 (Law Regulating School Budgets). And setting the rules for determining school fees in private schools that are not free), under the pretext of emergency exceptional circumstances, so that it is proposed to replace the percentages stipulated in the aforementioned article, so that the percentage of operating expenses represents 65% of the value of expenses. Previously, it represented 65%.
In a statement, she said: “It is important for the Teachers Syndicate in Lebanon to draw attention to the following points:
– Clause (A) and Clause (B) represent the salaries, wages and accessories thereof for the members of the educational staff who are in the owners and those who are not in the owners, and the wages of the members of the administrative body and employees, in addition to the burdens incurred by the school from insurance and financial contributions and deductions from the compensation fund for salaries and wages. These expenses are known in advance and their value is specified in accordance with the laws in force. The legislator set a percentage of 65%, considering that the cost of education should be for the human element, which is the basis in the educational process, and set a percentage of 35% for operational expenses, which cannot be determined in advance because they are estimated expenses and differ from one region to another and from one school to another and are not subject to monitoring because the budget includes Estimated and forward-looking figures that are not assigned to previous budgets, invoices, etc…
– The Teachers Syndicate in Lebanon is surprised by the urgency of educational institutions in proposing to amend Law 515 in order to preserve their financial interests and to charge parents additional increases, while some of them refused to implement effective laws, especially Law 46/2017, which gave increases to teachers on the pretext of their inability to charge parents any increase in the premium . It evaded the application of the law and paying the six grades to teachers and paying the deductions to the compensation fund due to them, and some of them deduct the deductions and do not pay them to the fund, and hundreds of teachers have been without compensation or retirement for more than a year because their school did not pay what they owe to the fund.
She added: “The union regrets the attempt to pass such a law without returning to it and to the parents, although the adoption of this law lasted for many years until we were able to formulate it in its current form, between the components of the educational family from a union of teachers, educational institutions and parents. Today, one of the pillars of this family is working. Solo to amend this law without going back to the other two components, including teachers and parents, with the aim of passing it indifferently to the rest.
The argument of the emergency exceptional circumstances did not extend to educational institutions only, but also affected the entire Lebanese society, including teachers and parents. Teachers’ salaries are still the same and have not changed due to these exceptional circumstances, and access to school has become very expensive with the high prices of gasoline, and have schools increased the allowance? Transport? In addition to the insane rise in medicine, medicines, consumables, electricity generator bills, purchasing water, the Internet, and many more, many elements of a decent life, and this unfortunately was not noticed by school administrations, as if the exceptional circumstance only affected schools without teachers and parents.
The Teachers Syndicate in Lebanon wishes that the Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Nabih Berri, and the honorable Representatives, not agree to the proposal of the law, because of its negative repercussions on teachers and parents. It will also enable private schools to increase their expenses without any legal restrictions or controls or prior or subsequent oversight. This amendment will also allow private schools to randomly increase school fees, which will contribute to the displacement of students from private schools due to their inability to pay these premiums.
Source: National News Agency