Lebanon will not hold official Brevet exams this year, the Lebanese Education Ministry announced on Monday.
In a statement, the Education Ministry said the Grade-9 official exams will not be held this year, revealing a proposal to “cancel it permanently for the coming years so that students do not remain hostage to political and economic fluctuations.”
The official Grade 12 Baccalaureate exams will be held without any disruptions, according to the Ministry.
The decision to cancel the Brevet exams takes into consideration the national certificate’s state on one hand, and Lebanon’s public health situation on the other, not to mention “the delicate situation Lebanon is going through.”
The Ministry noted that it had been preparing to hold the exams through a mechanism that reduces stress for students, including test questions that take the prevailing situation into account.
“When the associations and syndicates demanded an increase in exam payments, we immediately contacted donors who cooperated with us to secure what’s necessary.”
However, “when the official exams date approached, the Syndicate Coordination Body issued vague statements regarding participation in the Brevet certificate’s work,” the Ministry explained.
The said Body affirmed on Monday morning that it did not guarantee the participation of teachers in the exams, the Ministry added.
This prompted a meeting headed by caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, involving the caretaker ministers of education, interior, energy, health, and telecommunications.
The meeting resulted in the decision to cancel the Brevet exams as well as official technical exams and to provide all students participating in the exams with Pass Statements instead.