The Association of Primary Education Teachers – South and Nabatieh Branch held general assemblies in the Nabatieh district at the Zibdine Official School, and in the Saida district at the Al-Islah Mixed Official School, in the presence of the association’s president, Dr. Hussein Jawad, and with the participation of school principals, representatives, and branch members.
At the beginning of the meetings, the branch rapporteur, Mr. Yahya Rakin, congratulated the attendees on the occasion of the New Year, expressing his hope that 2026 would be a year of good for everyone, especially teachers, and that it would witness the fulfillment of their legitimate demands, which he described as “the minimum duties of the state if it wants to preserve the official school.”
For his part, the head of the association reviewed the stages that the association’s efforts have gone through, pointing to “intensive visits to parliamentary blocs, deputies, and officials, in addition to meeting with the Minister of Finance.” He explained that these efforts did not result in any progress towards the approval of rights, which placed the association before “the last option, which is striking and demonstrating.” He stressed that the association “has committed itself to keeping the teacher first,” calling on “all colleagues to solidarity and commitment in the upcoming movements,” stressing that “the movement is not for the rights of individuals, but for everyone, and there is no justification for complacency or non-compliance as happened in previous movements, because that is in the interest of everyone, from tenured and contract employees in their various capacities, in addition to mechanization workers and users.”
The head of the association also stressed “full coordination with official education associations on the one hand, and with the public sector associations gathering on the other hand,” considering that “the meeting of the gathering with the President of the Republic was fruitful in terms of proposing the formation of a committee to follow up on the demands, but that does not negate the option of pressure in the street until the demands are met.”
The attendees stressed the need to “support the official school by providing the elements of continuity,” which are embodied in:
“Approving an immediate increase in salaries and wages, and raising the contract hour wage by the same percentage.”
“Approving a draft decree to include all allowances in the core of the salary, and including the diligence allowance in the base of the contract hour wage.”
“Supporting school funds to secure the wages of workers at their expense, including teachers, mechanization workers, users, and others.”
“Lifting the burden on school funds by paying diligence allowances to workers at the expense of the funds directly from the ministry, and conducting contracts with them in accordance with the rules.”
The meetings concluded with a recommendation to the administrative board to “take appropriate escalatory decisions,” considering that “striking and demonstrating in the street remain the way to obtain rights.”
