After Eleven Years of Waiting: Lebanese University Contractors Demand Approval of Their Full-Time Employment Files

The contract professors at the Lebanese University addressed a message to each of: President of the Republic General “Joseph Aoun,” Prime Minister “Nawaf Salam,” Minister of Education and Higher Education “Rima Karami,” and President of the University Dr. “Bessam Badran.”
The professors affirmed in their message “their confidence in your patriotism and your eagerness to support the national university and protect its academic mission, which was, and still is, the cornerstone of public higher education in Lebanon.”
The professors explained in their statement that the last tenure file was approved in 2014, and since then “the Lebanese University has not witnessed any new tenure, despite the doubling of the number of students and the expansion of academic and research programs.”
They also indicated that this situation “has placed additional burdens on contract professors that exceed their capacity,” in light of material and functional conditions that “threaten the stability and continuity of the university.”
The statement added that “for the first time, tenured professors from the 2014 cohort were brought into the establishment without approving a new tenure file that guarantees the university’s continuity and the renewal of its teaching staff.”
The professors pointed out that the hourly wage for a contractor has become the lowest among Lebanese universities, and that their dues “have been retroactively eroded since 2017 as a result of delayed payments and the collapse of the currency,” without any compensation as happened with tenured and established professors.
The statement indicated that this reality “has made the contract professor the weakest link in a national institution built on his knowledge and dedication.”
The professors expressed their great surprise at statements indicating that the Council of Ministers and the Minister of Finance were unaware of the budget that could be allocated to the tenure file, despite the passage of more than eleven years since the last tenure.
They affirmed that this position “raises questions about the absence of financial and strategic planning to support the Lebanese University,” stressing that the tenure file “is not an emergency but a chronic and clear demand that has been repeatedly demanded on every official and educational occasion.”
The statement called for the tenure file prepared by the presidency of the Lebanese University to be submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval as soon as possible, “in order to achieve functional justice and guarantee the quality of education and the continuity of the national university in fulfilling its mission.”
In conclusion, the professors stressed that approving the file is not just a union demand, but a national and academic necessity that ensures the retention of competencies within the university and limits the brain drain that affects the best of its professors.
The conclusion stated: “We place this appeal in the hands of Your Excellency, Your Excellency’s Government, and Your Excellency, and we appreciate your continuous support for the national university, hoping that the file will be included on the agenda of the Council of Ministers in the nearest possible session for the benefit of public higher education and Lebanon as a whole.”