This fall, the academic year in Lebanon is gripped by the same chaos that has overwhelmed everything else in the country in its financial and economic meltdown.
Thousands of teachers are on strike, demanding salary adjustments to cope with hyperinflation and the currency’s free-fall. A month’s pay is now barely enough to fill a vehicle’s gas tank twice.
The start of school has been postponed several times as the cash-strapped government negotiates with the teachers’ union for an adjustment package estimated at about $500 million.