Lebanese schools association rejects proposals for teachers\' salaries

The Lebanese Association of Private Education Institutions has criticised the committee of minister’s  for going ahead with plans to adopt new salary scales and hierarchies for teaching professionals without taking into consideration "the opinions of educational institutions and parents’ committees and  disregarding the interests of 650,000 students, 60,000 teachers and hundreds of private educational institutions who find themselves unable to carry out their educational and national mission" the Association said through a statement. Following a meeting on Wednesday the Association of Private Education Institutions, which represents most of the schools in Lebanon, has rejected the proposals of the committee of ministers and warns of the consequences of" taking this reckless step.” The Association decided not to comply with any salary scale or increases related to teaching staff, unless approved by the Association warning that if they did, the results would  be reflected in the form of exaggerated increases in school fees which the parents can’t afford. The statement went on to say that it proposes a collective contract drawn up between the administrations, parents and teachers whereby everyone takes a responsible share in any increase in salaries, warning that if the requests of the Association are not met, "the educational institutions will find themselves unable to pay the salaries of teachers, which will lead to the closure of these institutions and displacing hundreds of thousands of students and teachers.” The Association kept its sessions open to follow-up developments, cautioning that the educational issues being debated should not merely be thrown into the "bazaar" of Lebanese politics.