Lebanon’s education system has entered a phase in which crisis is no longer an episodic interruption, but a sustained condition shaping schooling continuity, learning outcomes, and stakeholder wellbeing. Drawing on the Centre for Lebanese Studies (CLS) education crisis monitoring programme, which was launched in 2019 following the eruption of the Lebanese uprising and the collapse of the banking sector, this report synthesises the most recent evidence gathered from three online surveys with Grade 12 students (511 respondents), parents (1,089), and teachers (828), carried out by CLS between May 2025 and March 2026. In addition, and in order to cover experiences that are often underrepresented or not fully visible in large-scale survey data, three case studies with more focused and flexible methodologies were carried out with out-of-school children, Syrian refugees, and children with disabilities.
Findings indicate deepening exam unreadiness, persistent learning disruption, and heightened psychological strain for young people, alongside widening pressures on households and the teaching workforce, leading to persistent inequality and exclusion. Students’ worsening readiness for official examinations was closely linked to psychological distress, incomplete curriculum coverage, and conflict-related disruptions. Household affordability constraints remain decisive, as the annual cost of educating one child in private school, including transportation, absorbs over one-third of average reported annual income and continues to drive transfers from private to public schooling. Teachers’ salaries remain misaligned with living costs, with essential monthly expenditures exceeding earnings, reinforcing workforce instability.
The report demonstrates that despite substantial efforts by the government and international community to improve the conditions for learning in education, the efforts have not translated into sustained improvements. The report highlights that refugee education must shift from emergency response to comprehensive inclusion and diversified pathways. Scale alone is insufficient and sustainability depends on equity, adaptability, and meaningful outcomes. The report concludes that learning recovery, psychosocial support, tuition regulation, teacher retention measures, and strengthened governance for continuity planning are urgent priorities for structural intervention.
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