BEIRUT, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- For Rana Aido, a Lebanese mother, deciding where to educate her children has become less a question of public versus private school than of whether to pay tuition or put food on the table.
Aido, mother of two, was paying about 4,000 U.S. dollars a year for each child at a private school, while her family earned about 9,600 dollars annually.
"We've had to cut back on food and other basic necessities just to make ends meet," Aido said, noting that the 8,000-dollar tuition bill consumed about 83 percent of the family's annual income, leaving just 1,600 to cover transportation, books, uniforms, extracurricular activities and food.
In Lebanon, many parents choose private schools for their children, citing higher educational standards and other advantages. By the 2022-23 academic year, private schools accounted for about 72 percent of students, according to Lebanon's Center for Educational Research and Development.
However, in recent years, soaring private-school fees have put parents under growing financial strain.
Lama Tawil, head of the Union of Parents' Committees in Private Schools, said tuition fees increased by 15 to 30 percent this year, with average annual tuition reaching about 4,000 dollars per student.
For a family with three children, annual tuition can reach 12,000 dollars, she said. Before the economic crisis, education accounted for roughly one quarter of a family's salary, whereas it can now consume more than three quarters of household income.
"We have a social disaster," Tawil said.
Education costs rose by 130 percent in 2024 and another 36 percent in 2025, following a nearly 600 percent increase in 2023, said Nassib Ghobril, chief economist at Lebanese Byblos Bank, adding that education had consequently become a leading driver of inflation.
Private schools, meanwhile, say they are also struggling with rising costs of their own. Khaldoun Farhat, director general of Al-Maanieh School, said his school raised tuition by about 10 to 12 percent this year, citing higher costs for teachers, fuel, electricity, insurance, maintenance and transportation.
Whatever the reasons for the increases, Lebanese parents are feeling the financial pressure in very real terms. According to Ministry of Education data compiled by UNESCO, more than 31,000 students moved from private to public schools during the 2024-25 academic year.
But the harsher reality is that Lebanon's public education system has also been severely weakened by years of conflict.
A June 2026 assessment by the Lebanese Education Ministry with UNICEF support found that 340 educational institutions had been damaged during conflict, including 17 completely destroyed, putting at least 100,000 children at risk of being left without classrooms.
Nearly 80 public schools were still being used as shelters as the new academic year approached, according to the education ministry, with some expected to partially reopen while continuing to accommodate displaced families.
The education ministry says it is seeking to regulate private-school budgets while strengthening public education.
Imad Achkar, the ministry's director general, said private schools are now required to submit their budgets, while a new electronic system allows the ministry to compare expenses and assess proposed tuition increases. He stressed that the state has a duty to provide every student with access to a free public-school place.
These government measures have done little to ease Aido's immediate predicament.
Believing that private schools offer their children a better future, Aido and her husband, Fadi Zakkour, decided to keep them enrolled. Zakkour sold his car last year to help pay the tuition. This year, he borrowed 4,000 dollars to help cover the tuition bill.
"Our children's education is the most important thing to us," Aido said. "We want to keep going for as long as we can, but we don't know how much longer we can afford it." ■
