Beirut, December 23, 2021- Further to a request by the Government of Lebanon, the World Bank and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have recently agreed to repurpose US$37 million under the Lebanon Syrian Crisis Trust Fund (LSCTF) to provide financial incentives to public school teachers suffering from the severe economic and financial crisis in Lebanon to ensure they can purchase fuel to travel to work.
The Teachers Incentives Program, announced by the Minister of Education and Higher Education (Circular 501/م/2021), will support eligible public-school teachers, technical and vocational educational teachers and school personnel who attend school at a minimum of 90% of their present schedule and deliver lessons in both the first and second school shifts. This grant financing reallocation has been approved on an exceptional basis and for one academic year (2021-2022) only.
In order to ensure that only eligible teachers and school personnel benefit from these incentives, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) has established proper risk mitigation measures. For that purpose, MEHE, the Regional Education Offices and school principals must ensure that teachers and personnel information is entered accurately into the School Information Management System (SIMS), which includes in addition to general information about the teacher, the teacher’s IBAN and teaching hours (for contractual teachers). A Third-Party Monitoring Agency has also been commissioned by MEHE to verify teachers’ attendance and the delivery of lessons and confirm that these incentives are being provided only to eligible teachers and school personnel.
The World Bank would like to commend the efforts of teachers, school personnel, and MEHE to successfully launch the academic year 2021-2022 for in-person learning despite the dire circumstances the country is facing. The World Bank reiterates its readiness to support the education sector in Lebanon and ensure that teachers and staff at public schools can continue teaching and providing all children with quality education and learning.
