Lebanon: private education soars, public education sinks

The latest sparring over the ranks and salaries scale has revealed a structural flaw in the Lebanese economy at the level of public spending. It also raised the issue of reforms and controlling waste at all levels by directing attention toward how the Lebanese parliament failed to develop a plan to rationalize public spending and opted for easy but costly solutions based on raising taxes.

Lebanon's educational sector needs deep structural reform, perhaps more than any other. Education has long been a vehicle of wealth for Lebanon, which interacted with Arab neighbors and the world through that sector. It is unfortunate that teachers are the first to pay the price for the lack of reform by losing their rights. The Lebanese economy is paying for both the money being squandered and the missed opportunity for the economy and future generations.