In crisis-struck Lebanon, school year is gripped by chaos

By SARAH EL DEEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — This fall, Lebanon’s schools have been gripped by the same chaos that has overwhelmed everything else in the country in its historic economic meltdown. The start of the academic year has been postponed repeatedly because thousands of teachers are on strike. They are demanding adjustments in their salary to cope with hyperinflation. A month’s pay for a public school teacher can barely fill a vehicle’s gas tank twice. School buses are scrounging for fuel. With salaries plummeting, teachers in private schools are quitting in droves and leaving the country, gutting a sector considered to provide the best education. Many fear not just a lost school year but a lost generation of students.