Lebanon university strike threatens students’ futures
As the Lebanese parliament is considering austerity measures that would see public wages slashed, the Lebanese University continues its open-ended strike, with students missing classes for weeks now.
BEIRUT — Professors at the Lebanese University have been striking for a month, with no end in sight, over proposed plans to not only cut the wages of the teachers, but also other parts of the budget of Lebanon’s only public university.
By instituting austerity measures as part of a reform project, Prime Minister Saad Hariri is hoping to be able to unlock $11 billion that was promised at the Paris conference in 2018.
Since the start of the strike May 6, students have been unable to attend classes, which has put their futures at risk, with some organizing protests to call for an end to the strike.
Joseph Loutfi, a third-year student studying petroleum geoscience, expressed concern about his ability to start a postgraduate degree following the completion of his program.
