The outbreak of Israel’s war on Lebanon has forcibly displaced about 1.2 million people from their homes and disrupted the school year for thousands of students—for the sixth year in a row. 

Students and staff at public schools, already grappling with insufficient government funding and a shortage of resources, have been impacted the most. The Israeli war on Lebanon transformed 500 public schools—half of the country’s total—into shelters for those forcibly displaced.

Students in South Lebanon have already been struggling with attending their schools under Israeli bombardment for over a year now. 

Private schools, on the other hand, have taken varied approaches: some schools in “safe” areas returned to in-person learning, others adopted a hybrid model, and some shifted entirely to online learning, whether through asynchronous (pre-recorded lessons) or synchronous methods (online classes).

An estimated 400,000 children’s academic year was disrupted by Israeli airstrikes, according to UNICEF. Despite this, the Minister of Education and Higher Education Abbas Halabi remains adamant on conducting the official exams this year. 

What challenges are students facing? With the Israeli occupation carrying strikes on residential buildings and assassinations on cars on public roads in so-called “safe” areas, it is hard to confirm if there is a safe place to be in Lebanon.

By commuting to school, parents and students were taking huge risks by being on roads marked for potential deadly “targeted assassinations” on cars or residential buildings.

Risks aside, students in schools face an immense mental toll when they are expected to perform well and carry out their studies as usual, given that many of them are displaced and have even lost their homes or loved ones. At least 3,700 people have been killed by Israel’s indiscriminate bombing as of September 27, 2024.

“When we went back to school  we were terrified because we didn’t know whether we were hearing strikes or sonic booms,” explained Elsa Hawi, a 15-year-old student in a school in Baabda. Her school, although located in a “safe” area, is in the vicinity of Beirut’s southern suburb—an area that was being constantly bombed.

“But now that we’re used to it, we feel safer in school because we’re all together, so it’s less scary,” reassured Elsa.

For some schools, in-person attendance is not mandatory, but attending online is. Teachers and students who were able to make it to campus initiate an online meeting through e-meeting platforms that were used during the COVID-19 pandemic (Zoom, Google Meets, Webex, Microsoft Teams…), and some students follow from home.

While it might seem convenient, internet connectivity in a country like Lebanon comes with significant challenges. The internet is not only weak and unstable, but also one of the most expensive in the world. Telecommunication costs in Lebanon rank among the highest globally, making consistent internet access a costly endeavor.

Staying connected in Lebanon was even harder under Israeli aggression, adding to the existing struggles of the telecommunications sector.

As previously reported by SMEX, the Israeli occupation has targeted and destroyed multiple cell towers that provided internet connection in many areas, including parts of the South and Beirut’s southern suburb. 

With maintenance teams being targeted and unable to reach the affected sites for prompt repair, many towers are still out of function, while internet generators in areas receiving forcibly displaced people are experiencing unprecedented pressure, significantly slowing down internet speed. 

“Students watching classes in-person have a significant advantage compared to those who don’t,” affirmed Samia Kanaan, a displaced mother. “I had to relocate far from where my kid’s school is, and it’s unsafe and far to drive there every day.There is also no place to rent near the school.”

Kanaan said that she uses a 4G router from touch, one of Lebanon’s two telecom providers, to ensure her children have internet to attend online classes. 

Recharging the router is expensive. The current tariffs for a touch 4G prepaid SIM card can be costly and not as accessible for all displaced people, as 25 GB of data costs $10, while the router itself costs between $27 and $123.

Other people have opted for installing wireless internet in their rented accommodations, another costly option. 

While some displaced families were able to adopt this option, many did not have the luxury of stable connection in shelters and other unfurnished places they rented. 

Kanaan also explained that there is a big difference between students who are attending school in-person and those who attend online. While some teachers try to interact with students online, others completely forget about students joining remotely. Many times, teachers forget to even initiate online meetings.

“If online students are at a disadvantage, how can they be expected to be treated equally in exams, grades, and tuition?”

Many parents used to wait for their children outside the school in case anything happens, Kanaan told SMEX. 

The added burden on teachers Teachers, like students, face the same struggles. Their responsibilities towards the students can also exacerbate the problem, leaving many of them desperate and low on energy.

Zeina Al Naamani, a teacher who has transitioned into teaching entirely online, has expressed her struggles with e-learning during these times. She teaches secondary and middle school classes.

“I’m not displaced but the internet is not helpful, and on certain occasions, I’m unable to teach my online classes because of internet disruptions,” she said.

Limited internet access can be detrimental to the learning process, especially for teachers. 

This lack of connectivity can lead to delays in course materials being delivered, making it difficult for students to keep up with the pace of the lessons.

“The school did not support providing internet bundles or any financial aid to buy data,” Al Naamani said. 

She also added that her school provided training for basic features on Zoom, such as screen-sharing and other settings. She explained that her school took the extra mile of conducting one-on-one meetings with each teacher to practice using the platform. 

In addition to the usual problems of e-learning, students and teachers now face the burden of forced displacement.

“Sometimes, I call on a student’s name and they just don’t reply. We keep cameras off because some families are displaced or have family members living with them,” Al Naamani explained. “Students can mainly only see the PowerPoint of the lesson and hear my voice.”

“I try to make the lesson as engaging and creative as possible, but it’s frustrating,” admitted Al Naamani. “Sometimes, I ask a question and answer it myself.” 

“Unlike COVID, I feel we are living between life and death. It’s nerve-wrecking to prepare a PowerPoint presentation when a sudden explosion can occur at any time.” 

“As their teacher, I don’t have any motivation to work or the energy to act as if everything’s okay, how about those students?”

The Ministry of Telecommunications’ plans In the face of these challenges, SMEX reached out to the Minister of Telecommunications to inquire about their plans for the year. 

Minister Johnny Corm told SMEX that efforts are underway to ensure better connectivity for students in Lebanon. He particularly referred to the “whitelisting” feature on Microsoft Teams for students and teachers in public schools.

According to Samar Al Halal, the Digital Safety Helpdesk Manager at SMEX, the whitelisting feature requires mobile networks (3G or 4G) to function through data zero-rating, meaning that specific services or platforms can be accessed without consuming a user’s mobile data balance.

Although whitelisting has benefits, such as allowing students to watch classes with no direct access to WiFi, it also has major drawbacks. 

“Whitelisting can make the mobile network congested or heavy, so it will become harder for people in the proximity of the users to use mobile networks,” said Al Halal.

Another concern is related to these users’ privacy. Whitelisting requires users to sign up using phone numbers, making it easier to track users in displacement shelters, since data like names and location are now accessible, according to our Digital Safety Helpdesk.

“Close coordination between the Ministry of Education, Microsoft, and the Ministry of Telecommunication is needed to have a stable and secure network connection for all users.”

Corm had specified that they have compiled a list of 150,000 names of students and staff, but that the list is not complete as they do not have all the names.  

The minister also said that he requested from the Council of State “double speed, double capacity internet for everyone for the same price,” similar to the measures undertaken during COVID. 

“Internet speed upgrades connections to enable faster downloads and uploads, while capacity increases the network’s ability to handle more data,” explained Al Halal. “This helps prevent slowdowns, ensuring the internet remains stable and uninterrupted, even when many people are using it in the same area.”

Corm also told SMEX that the Ministry has coordinated with Ogero’s Director-General, Imad Kreidieh, to compile a list of 1,100 displacement shelters in order to assess their conditions, identify their needs, and establish WiFi connections accordingly.

Despite the large numbers of displaced people in shelters, Corm remains positive that “the equipment is accessible, and not overwhelming to obtain,” indicating that there is a capacity to provide internet connectivity to the displaced.

The ministry and Ogero had previously announced their plans to remap the telecom stations in Lebanon, a process initiated after the Israeli occupation targeted multiple cell towers and made others inaccessible.  

Despite these measures, students in Lebanon—especially those who were forcibly displaced from the South, Bekaa, and the suburbs of Beirut—remain at a disadvantage. 

While students in some areas of the country are somewhat able to conduct their education normally, others have lost their academic year completely to war. A unified national strategy for schooling, for students of all socio-economic backgrounds, is essential in such circumstances.

Following a fragile ceasefire rife with violations by Israel, many students who lost their homes or whose towns and villages are still under threat remain displaced. Will the Lebanese government effectively implement a national postwar strategy that would ensure all students in Lebanon have equal access to education, whether online or in person? 

Photo from AFP
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