!The Crumbling of the Educational System in Lebanon: An Alarm

Who is responsible for the real dilemma of the educational system in Lebanon? Believe it or don’t believe it, the Lebanese learners are struggling to learn. What is our guilt? Is it because we are born in Lebanon, and we should be “heroes and heroines” to survive? I believe in Martin Luther King’s “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” In reality, teachers in Lebanon are living in a battle. In other words, they are swinging between surviving to live like any other human being and to deliver their message in teaching.

To add more, online learning came as a catastrophe for many parents who lack the knowledge of using technology. Is it a haunting ghost that dominates our lives? The tragic situation in Lebanon is escalating day after day due to the inflation of the economic status. Here, we go to the fact that climbing the mountain is not like sitting down at home doing nothing. But, who will survive amid this catastrophic dilemma? I am not exaggerating! But we Lebanese people are facing death in life. Who respects well- educated people? Who elevates their minds and engraves passion deep within them? Teachers are the support system in our country. If we Lebanese teachers are not sustained, how can we stand- up and face all predicaments in our society! If we lose education, we will lose ourselves. We should be the voice of the voiceless. We are living in a dirty swamp and no one will rescue us except ourselves.

Let’s not procrastinate and seek a change to build a new future with new inventions. Taking an action for integrating change is different from only spoken words. Be leaders and not followers! How can a fragmented society uplift our mindset? Any nation can be deteriorated when the educational system is declined. The miserable status quo in Lebanon leads to many harmful changes that will dominate us in the near future in all domains. How much do we have the strength to struggle in the middle of this tragic situation? The pandemic has invaded the world recently, and it makes a drastic change in our lifestyle.

We Lebanese people are facing death, loss, illiteracy, and ignorance. To specify more, we are homeless in our home Lebanon. In a nut shell, education never stops. It is a route for building and shaping our future. How can it be supported and appreciated? The educational system in Lebanon needs financial support and update to meet the 21st century learners’ incentives. It is lost between traditional learning and modern learning. Here, it fall a gap between students of the new generation and teachers with old generation. Think of it: when teachers are not trained on the updated techniques and new methodologies in teaching, we will not gain the students’ attention. It is important to note that both teachers and students are the victims of the Lebanese curriculum. Then, teachers are obliged to teach according to the required material in the Lebanese curriculum, and students are treated as a sponge. In other words, they are spoon fed. As a result, the dreams of the Lebanese students are farfetched. Day after day, we are drowning in the depth of the ocean where our goals and dreams are lost.

We cannot ignore that the emergence of the pandemic came as a shock for us, and it showed lack of knowledge in technology. Then, the situation becomes worst because it exposed the deterioration of the educational system in Lebanon. We are still moving around the same circle where there is no change and no progress. There is a call to save the well- educated people, save teachers, and save all the Lebanese community. Without a teacher, there is no doctor, no engineer, and no……. We are a priority, and priorities should not be ignored. Yet, we Lebanese teachers and students are ignored and not given a voice to make a change. It is time to say what Andy McIntyre says, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” Save us!