Thousands of students in Lebanon are underserved by the concentration of educational opportunities in a small number of governorates. Policymakers must make investments in areas that lack public branches, colleges, and educational resources in order to create a more inclusive future.
1. A Landscape of Uneven Learning Opportunities
Lebanon’s education system has long been viewed as a regional strength but this strength is not evenly distributed. By mapping universities, Lebanese University (LU) branches, and the availability of educational resources across governorates, a clear pattern emerges: a select few governorates enjoy strong coverage, while others have limited or almost no access.
The visualization shows that:
Baabda, Zahle, and Matn dominate in the number of universities.
Meanwhile, areas like Bsharri, Batroun, Hermel, and Hasbaya have only 1 or zero universities.
This imbalance shapes future opportunities. Where a student is born should not determine how far they can go but right now, it often does.
2. Public Higher Education Is Even More Concentrated
Access to affordable education is even more unequal.
Zahle and Matn lead with 5 and 4 LU branches.
Many areas including Tyre, Akkar, Zgharta, Hasbaya, Hermel have one or no branches.
Several governorates have none at all, forcing students to relocate or drop out.
This reinforces a cycle: private universities cluster in the center, while public universities remain scarce outside major cities.
3. The Coverage Index: How Many Citizens Each University Serves?
To measure real accessibility, the coverage index compares each region’s population to the number of universities available.
Here the gap becomes dramatic:
In Baabda and Matn, one university serves fewer than 200,000 people.
In Hermel, Bsharri, and Tripoli, a single university covers more than 300,000 residents.
The message is clear: some regions are overserved, while others are severely underserved.
4. Do Educational Resources Exist Where They’re Needed Most?
When we look at the distribution of educational resources—libraries, cultural centers, labs, and learning facilities another pattern emerges:
Akkar, Baalbek, and Baabda have the highest counts.
Remote districts like Bsharri, Hermel, Batroun, and Marjeyoun have almost none.
This highlights a critical insight: some areas have the right infrastructure but lack universities, while others have universities but no supporting learning ecosystem.
5. What This Means for Lebanon
Lebanon’s most significant educational challenge is not quality but fairness. The maps reveal a structural inequality that affects:
university enrollment
student mobility
long-term employment opportunities
economic development in rural areas
By investing in the regions with the lowest coverage and resource availability, Lebanon can create a more inclusive and productive society.
Call to Action
We recommend a targeted educational investment plan for underserved governorates, focusing on:
Opening new LU branches in areas with zero public presence
Strengthening educational resources where population density is high
Supporting private institutions willing to expand beyond major districts
Digital learning infrastructure for remote areas
Education shouldn’t depend on geography. With intentional planning, it doesn’t have to.
Unveiling Exam Success: Insights into Student Performance
Education shapes futures, but what factors play the most significant role in student success? This project explores student performance through data from a Kaggle dataset and a survey conducted among students from AUB and other universities. The goal is to uncover patterns and factors that influence academic achievement to inform educational strategies and mental health support.
The analysis highlights the prevalent academic and emotional challenges faced by students, such as high stress, poor mental well-being, inconsistent study habits, and inadequate resources. These factors collectively contribute to low academic performance and emotional instability. Using data-driven insights, the evidence demonstrates that high stress negatively impacts GPA, as shown in stress and exam score correlations. Furthermore, inconsistent study habits, particularly studying for 1-2 hours daily, lead to heightened variability in mental well-being, reflecting emotional instability. Parental influence also emerges as a critical factor, with students from higher-educated families performing better academically. These findings underline the need to address interconnected academic, psychological, and environmental barriers to improve student outcomes comprehensively.
Imagine a journey through time, from 2012 to 2021, where Primary Education Expenditure in the MENA region is on a decreasing trend from 4% to 3%. It’s a concerning trend that threatens the very foundation of education for our children.
The Problem
The problem is crystal clear. When you cut down on education spending, you’re essentially trimming the wings of future generations. The numbers don’t lie. The shrinking budget for primary education means dilapidated schools, underpaid teachers, and a lack of essential learning materials.
The Bright Path Forward
The road to recovery starts with one word: Investment.
Pouring more funds into primary education.
Making the most of available resources.
Shouting from the rooftops about why this matters.
Rewarding those who make it happen.
How do we know our solution works?
Numbers don’t lie, but they can also tell a tale of triumph. And “Cote D’ivoire” is a great example. When increasing the educational expenditure, the percentage of children school drop outs decreased from 31% in 2013 to 3.1% in 2021.
Recommendation
The results speak for themselves. More investment equals better education. Keep the funds flowing, optimize, and let’s champion education together.
When we invest in primary education, we invest in brighter futures. It’s high time MENA governments heed the call and secure quality education for all.
In the challenging landscape of global unemployment, the story of Youmna, a 30-year-old Egyptian woman, stands as a poignant example. A decade of dedication to her organization abruptly ended due to the pandemic, plunging her into a three-year job search. This narrative, compounded by a lack of early educational opportunities, resonates as a common experience in the Arab world.
At its core, Youmna’s story grapples with unemployment, a conflict explored through its definition and the consequences it imposes on individuals, societies, and economies. Her personal struggles, marked by stress-related health issues, mirror the toll exacted on individuals. Societal repercussions manifest in limited opportunities, substandard living conditions, and underfunded institutions.
Global unemployment rates expose a stark reality, with the Arab region leading at 11.26%, underscoring the urgency of addressing the issue. The intricate relationship between education and unemployment becomes apparent, with studies confirming that higher education levels correlate with lower unemployment risks. A comparative graph illustrates Brazil’s struggle with basic and intermediate education versus Japan’s success with advanced education.
A potential solution emerges: investing more in education to elevate citizens’ skills and foster innovation. Aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 4, advocating for quality education becomes imperative. The graph depicting average education expenditure across countries emphasizes that nations with lower unemployment rates allocate more resources to education. The recommendation is clear: countries should prioritize and increase spending on their education systems, creating a pathway to innovation, economic growth, and enhanced employment opportunities.
Youmna’s narrative encapsulates the broader struggle against unemployment. The call to action is unmistakable: invest in education to reshape the narrative, empower individuals, and build resilient, thriving communities. In the transformative power of education lies the resolution to Youmna’s journey, a beacon of hope in the face of adversity.
Lebanon’s public education sector has grappled with numerous challenges in recent years, such as a shortage of spots in public schools, strikes by primary and secondary teachers, and various other issues. As a previous student in the public sector, STRIKE! was the most common act I encountered from my teachers. A lot of strikes and movements were organized by teachers, asking for their rights, increased wages, etc.. This was a great disabler for an efficient learning journey, where stability, the most important aspect was absent. Such a state deprived students, in one way or another, of having access to free and inclusive educational institutions/schools. For that reason, a comprehensive study I conducted revealed that a significant number of students have turned to private schools as an alternative, highlighting a critical problem in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of providing quality and inclusive education for all students.
.
To address the issue of the lack of educational opportunities in public schools, which should be guaranteed by the government, as the 4th goal of SDG states, an examination of Lebanon’s education expenditure as a percentage of GDP was undertaken, where reflects the amount of money the government spends on education, in addition to another factor, which is the percentage of government’s expenditures on education as a percentage of total expenditures, These 2 metrics are then considered particularly in comparison to France, given Lebanon’s adherence to the French Educational System. The analysis of these two metrics exposed a disparity, with Lebanon’s current education expenditure as a percentage of GDP having risen since 2019 due to the economic crisis, reaching 2% in 2022, compared to France’s 6%. Although Lebanon fares well in terms of the percentage of education expenditures compared to other sectors, with a steady increase since 2014, reaching nearly 8% in 2020 in contrast to France’s 10%, the gap in GDP percentage remains concerning.
In conclusion, addressing this issue requires recommending an augmented budget for Lebanon’s educational sector. Ideally, a tripling of the budget over the next decade is proposed. This increase could be implemented gradually, but decisive action must be taken to ensure progress towards the SDG of providing quality and inclusive education for all Lebanese students.
