Lebanon needs a national strategy for education

ENAR

The academic year 2019-2020 has been the most dysfunctional one Lebanon has experienced in recent memory. It has also highlighted discrepancies in the quality of education that high-income families have access to versus that which low income families can afford. This inequality needs to be addressed and rectified if Lebanon is to place its hope of a brighter future on its well-educated human capital.  Discrepancies in access to quality education were most apparent in two aspects this year, the first being distance learning programs implemented when all schools were mandated to close due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of February (see article on distance learning). Schools that cater to high-income familiars tend to follow international programs that are technology-based and hence made a smoother transition to interactive online learning and assessment. On the other end of the spectrum, distance learning in private schools in remote areas of