The Lebanese educational system is centralized and uniquely complex, reflecting the country’s cultural and religious diversity. The student body is distributed among three main educational sectors: free public schools, semi-private schools receiving subsidies from the government, and private schools. Over 70% of students attend private schools compared to only 28% in public schools¹. Despite expanding public schools since Lebanon’s independence in 1943, private schools dominate the educational system. Public schools are primarily located in the poorest regions of the country, where demand is highest, serve lower-middle-class and lower-SES learners, and are often criticized for their poor educational quality (Abdul-Hamid & Yassine, 2020). For instance, the latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022² results revealed a statistically significant 55-point gap between the performance of 15-year-old students in reading, science, and mathematics in private and public schools, which makes the system highly inequitable.  

Brief Overview of the Lebanese Educational System Before the War

In the past decade, Lebanon has suffered from continuous disruptions, including political and economic instability, the effect of the COVID-19 health pandemic, the Port of Beirut’s August 4, 2020 explosion, and the presence of substantial numbers of refugees or displaced people. These problems have had a devastating impact on education, resulting in severe loss of learning opportunities, which was evident in the unsatisfactory performance of students on international assessments such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and (PISA) (Hall, Schmautzer, Tmiri, & Tschupp, 2022). According to BouJaoude and Faour (2024), between 2011 and 2019, Lebanon experienced the most significant decrease in the TIMSS average scores in mathematics and science among other Middle Eastern countries. All these challenges have severely hindered Lebanon’s progress toward achieving education-related sustainable development goals, specifically SDG4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all (UNESCO, 2015). 

As BouJaoude and Faour (2024) discussed, Lebanon’s financial and political unrest has reduced the financial resources available for the education sector and shifted possible funds to security concerns and emergency assistance. Between 2011 and 2019, Lebanon’s expenditure in education as a percentage of total government expenditure (2.6) increased by 1% only, falling short of the global average of 4.2. The last curriculum reform was in 1997, with minor changes in 2015, resulting in a curriculum devoid of the critical thinking, problem-solving, and citizenship skills students need to thrive in the 21^st-century labor market (Abdul-Hamid & Yassine, 2021). 

Impact of the Israeli War on the Educational System in Lebanon 

The pre-existing challenges were exacerbated by the Israeli-Lebanese conflict, which was first initiated on October 8, 2023, as a “Support Front” for Gaza, mainly focused on South Lebanon. According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA, 2024), 72 schools, including public and private ones in South Lebanon and Nabatiyeh governorates, were either partially or fully closed, affecting around 23,000 students and 2,500 teachers by August 2024. Despite these challenges, public exams in general and vocational education were successfully conducted in Lebanon. Later, the Israeli-Lebanese conflict expanded to reach other areas in Lebanon³. On September 18, 2024, all educational institutions were closed because of the Israeli attacks, and the start of the academic year in public schools was pushed to October 14, 2024. Moreover, more than 638 educational establishments were used as collective shelters for displaced people, including 560 public schools (88%). Such disruptions in public schools, which mainly cater to vulnerable students, continue to reflect the inequity in the Lebanese educational system. The ongoing crisis affected at least 1 million people, including 187,600 internally displaced people (IDPs) who have sought refuge in collective shelters. Among these are around 400,000 students, including 115,556 public school students, 277,662 private school students, and 35,590 teachers.  

Efforts to Mitigate the Impact  

On October 1, 2024, the Minister of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) established the “Higher Committee for the Management of Education in Emergencies, Crises, and Disasters” to develop a comprehensive and inclusive response plan in coordination with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD), and Microsoft to guarantee learning continuity and inclusive education for all students, including those with disabilities, while providing psychosocial support. The Education Emergency Cost Response Plan (EECRP) was finalized by October 15, 2024. Three student populations were targeted in the plan: displaced students in collective shelters, displaced students in individual shelters/homes, and students in homes in non-affected areas. While the estimated cost for immediate implementation of the EECRP response plan was around 25 million US Dollars, no funding was received except for the $1.5 million from the Education Can’t Wait [ECW] on August 27, 2024, previously provided for the South Response. Despite this funding gap, international organizations such as UNESCO, UNICEF, and the European Union continued to play a pivotal role in delivering immediate support to ensure the continuity of education. 

As part of the EECRP plan, student registration at public schools was launched on October 17, 2024, and later extended until December 6, 2024. Students could register at any public school, whether repurposed as a shelter or through the MEHE hotline. Similarly, teachers in public schools were requested to go to the nearest public school, whether repurposed as a shelter or not, to register. Figure 1 shows student and teacher enrollment trends during the 2024 Israeli-Lebanese conflict. As shown in Figure 1, the number of registered students by October 21 was 64,290, which sharply increased to 275,691 by November 30. Similarly, the number of registered teachers increased over time; however, the increase was gradual and steady, starting with 9,160 on October 21 and reaching 39,177 by November 30. If we compare the number of students registered by November 30 to those registered in public schools in Lebanon in 2023 (302,133), we can say that almost 90% of the students registered.  

Figure 1  

Trends in student and teacher enrollment during the 2024 Israeli war  

Based on the EECRP plan, 350 public schools were identified to be used on a shift basis. Each shift is three days a week, including seven periods a day, providing 21 periods for each group of students per week. In addition, 169 private schools were identified to host public school students and open in an afternoon shift of five days a week, covering four periods a day, providing 20 periods for each group of students per week. Regarding the teaching modality adopted, the plan stipulated that public schools not used as collective shelters follow in-person learning with a three-day cycle attendance. On the other hand, repurposed public schools were planned to follow in-person learning at a host private school with a three-day cycle attendance, and those closed due to the crisis were scheduled to follow online learning.  

The academic year in public schools started on November 4, 2024, with 350 schools for in-person learning, 397 schools for online learning, and 45 schools used as shelters offering in-person learning at one of their buildings separate from the shelter space. Alternatively, private schools resumed classes on October 7, 2024, almost a month ahead of public schools, thus deepening their inequality gap. Private schools were asked to select a teaching modality that ensures the safety of students and teachers while getting approval from the parents’ committees, including in-person, synchronous, or asynchronous online learning or blended learning. Table 1 shows the distribution of teaching modalities in primary and secondary public schools across Lebanese governorates as of November 4.  

Table 1 

Distribution of teaching modalities in primary and secondary official schools across Lebanese governorates as of November 4. 

	Primary			Secondary
	Number of schools	Teaching Modalities		Number of schools	Teaching Modalities
		Online	In-person		Online	In-person
North	65	0	65	43	1	42
Beirut	5	0	5	17	2	15
Baalbek/Hermel	65	65	0	19	16	3
Mount Lebanon	62	5	57	61	8	53
Beqaa	43	10	33	25	6	19
Nabatieh	89	81	8	18	15	3
South	53	53	0	27	27	0

Table 1 shows disparities in the distribution of teaching modalities across primary and secondary public schools in the five governorates of Lebanon. Online teaching was dominant in the most affected governorates, like the South, where all primary and secondary schools taught online. Similarly, the Baalbeck/Hermel governorate adopted online teaching in all primary and 84% (16 out of 19) secondary schools. Likewise, the Nabatieh governorate adopted online teaching in 91% (81 out of 89) of the primary and 83% (15 out of 18) of the secondary schools. On the contrary, in-person teaching was dominant in the other less affected governorates, especially the North and Beirut, where almost all primary and secondary schools taught in person. These regional disparities highlight inequities in access to quality education during emergencies, primarily since online learning is well known to have had a relatively negative impact on the quality of learning due to several complex barriers, among which are limited access to technology, poor internet connectivity, and the availability of qualified teachers (BouJaoude & Faour, 2024). It is important to note that schools previously used as collective shelters were planned to reopen on December 2, 2024, with infrastructure assessments and repairs to follow, and schools located in affected areas were scheduled to continue offering online learning for the 2024/2025 academic year. However, implementing the EECRP emergency plan faces significant challenges due to the absence of robust data collection and analysis mechanisms and unclear strategies for using results to make necessary adjustments. These shortcomings are particularly concerning in Lebanon, where the implementation of quality assurance measures across the pre-college education system—grounded in evidence-based plans, performance indicators, monitoring, and evaluation—has historically been given minimal attention (BouJaoude & Faour, 2024). 

Besides, during the crisis, CERD developed digital platforms like MAWARIDY⁴, MADRISTI⁵, and CERD e-books and prepared tutorials on using these platforms. Moreover, CERD transformed selected training centers into hub schools with the necessary facilities, such as internet connectivity and devices, to support access for internally displaced students residing at shelters. In addition, CERD developed materials for teacher training webinars addressing psychological, social-emotional, and digital learning. All these resources were ready by November 25, 2024. The result of this delay meant that public school teachers were left with limited support, especially since the training webinars were initiated almost two months after the onset of the conflict. This issue was previously identified in a study conducted by the Center of Lebanese Studies [CLS] (2020), which examined the impact of COVID-19 on the quality of education in three Arab countries, including Lebanon. Data on the type and quality of distance education platforms provided by the ministries of education and the kind of support (if any) available for teachers were collected using an online survey. The results revealed that most teachers, especially those in the public sector, spend longer working hours with limited support to prepare lessons for an online teaching environment compared to a face-to-face traditional classroom setting.  

Discussion 

Over the past decade, Lebanon has faced numerous disruptions, including political and economic instability, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Port of Beirut explosion, and displaced people. These crises have profoundly impacted the education sector, leading to significant learning loss among students at all educational levels. The Israeli-Lebanese conflict, which began in October 2023 and intensified on September 18, 2024, exacerbated the existing challenges and impacted large numbers of students and teachers. In response to the conflict, the MEHE developed the EECRP to address its impact. However, the plan faced delays and secured only $1.5 million of the $25 million needed to implement the plan. The conflict disrupted many schools,  primarily public, repurposed as shelters, thus disproportionately impacting vulnerable students. Public schools reopened on November 4, weeks later than private schools, which resumed on October 7. Online teaching dominated in conflict zones, but limited access to technology worsened inequalities. Teachers faced resource shortages and delayed training, similar to challenges during COVID-19. CERD supported MEHE with digital platforms, hub schools, and teacher training, but these efforts have been insufficient to address widening disparities or advance inclusive education. Without timely planning and execution of critical initiatives, these challenges threaten to persist.  

The Israeli-Lebanese war worsened an already sorry educational situation in Lebanon and underscores the urgent need for forward planning and proactive implementation of education continuity plans to guarantee the continuation of learning during emergencies. The delayed finalization of the Education Emergency Cost Response Plan (EECRP), underfunding, and limited resource allocation reveal significant gaps in the Lebanese educational system in preparing for and responding to emergencies. These gaps were translated into disruptions, delayed reopening of schools, and worsened inequalities, particularly for vulnerable populations dependent on public schools. This situation calls for a significant overhaul of the decision-making processes at MEHE and CERD. Even though we live in a country that has experienced multiple crises in the past decade and in the past 50 years of its modern history, MEHE and CERD have not developed the essential skills for managing education continuity. This lack of preparedness prevents the design of proactive education continuity plans that can be activated in times of crisis rather than starting the planning after a crisis, thus wasting valuable time and depriving students of the opportunity to continue their education. According to Saskatoon Public Schools in Canada,⁶ “Education continuity management includes the processes, procedures, decisions, and activities to ensure that school divisions can continue to function throughout disruptive events such as an emergency, a disaster, or a crisis. The education continuity program includes an ongoing risk assessment and management process.” The Saskatoon Public Schools continue by asserting that their continuity plans intend to have the capability to continue to provide essential services and ultimately resume the delivery of all of our educational services. Continuity management and continuity plans are not limited to public institutions. MEHE can require all private schools to develop such plans and thus cultivate a culture of planning that has the potential to benefit all students. Lebanon can benefit from successful international models to create a framework for emergency education with clear guidelines, pre-identified safe learning spaces, and mechanisms to fund, follow up, and maintain education during crises.