In Lebanon, Easy Choice Between Public and Private School

From The Daily Star:

Reina Wardini, a mother of two, laughs out loud at the thought of sending her boys to a public school. “There was no decision to make. The schooling my children receive in a private school is of a higher level,” she says. Yet like many Lebanese families, it is a choice she pays dearly for. The Wardini family pays 5 million Lebanese pounds a year for Paul, 15 and again for Jean, 17 to attend the Sagess-Brasilia Catholic School in the Beirut district of Achrafieh.

“It gets more expensive all the time because of the rising cost of living,” says Wardini. “But I would never consider sending my boys to public schools. That is not an option for us” – she laughs again – “except maybe in case of an emergency.”

Many Lebanese families, like the Wardinis, are critical of Lebanon’s public-school system, and stretch budgets thin in order to keep their children in private schools. This attitude is somewhat puzzling given the government’s generous spending on public education – the sector re­ceives around $600 million a year, and is ranked as the state’s third-largest expense. Yet at present, only two thirds of students are enrolled in the private sector.

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