My son recently turned 15 and is considering his future. There are perhaps fewer reasons than ever for him to stay in school in Lebanon. We have an education system that systematically fails to prepare our youth for the job market, economic stagnation and a deteriorating security picture. Worse still, it is often not what you know, but rather who that determines your chances in the job market. Luckily my son wants to keep studying, but perhaps this paralysis is why so many of our youth are dropping out in their early teens. Families desperate for income cannot be convinced that if their children study hard they will get the rewards they deserve, so they allow them to quit. A vicious circle has developed. When eventually my son does finish his education, one institution I would be increasingly wary of him enrolling into is the Lebanese Armed Forces. Since the
