Education law

Under the law, all Lebanese children should have access to education free from discrimination. Lebanon’s Law 220 of  2000 grants persons with disabilities the right to education, health, and other basic rights. It set up a committee dedicated to optimizing conditions for children registered as having a disability to participate in all classes and tests.

In reality, the educational path of children with disabilities in Lebanon is strewn with logistical, social, and economic pitfalls that mean they often face a compromised school experience—if they can enroll at all.

Administration of education system: Elementary, secondary, and higher education in Lebanon are all overseen by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) (Ministère de l’Education et de l’Enseignement Supérieur). Within the ministry are the:

• Directorate General of Education
• Directorate General of Higher Education
• Directorate General of Technical and Vocational Education

Also under the auspices of the MEHE is the National Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD; CRDP in Arabic). CERD provides technical expertise on the Lebanese education system to both local and international bodies. It is also develops and issues textbooks related to the national curriculum.

Lebanon has both public and private schools. Both teach the national curriculum.

Technical and vocational education (TVET) is run separately from the rest of the education sector, under the direction of the Directorate General for Vocational and Technical Education (DGVTE). In 2012, the Lebanese government revised its approach to TVET fields, levels and certificates, issuing legislation and establishing a new framework focused on 4 areas:

• Reviewing and upgrading programs and specialties
• Reviewing and upgrading the academic structure of the TVET system
• Developing qualified human resources, and upgrading financial and physical resources
• Strengthening the sectors ties to local and private partners

Lebanon has low levels of education spending, both from a global and a local perspective. As noted in one 2014 report by BankMed, a Lebanon-based banking company, “the government spent in 2012 an amount equivalent to 1.6 percent of GDP on education. This amount compares to 3.8 percent of GDP spent on education in each of Kuwait and Egypt, 5.4 percent spent in Oman, and 6.2 percent spent in Tunisia.”