Cabinet Approves Lebanese University File, Pays Public Employees' Salaries

The cabinet approved on Thursday the contentious long-awaited Lebanese University file after agreeing on the appointment of deans and contract teachers. The ministers also agreed on paying the salaries of public employees from the Budget's reserves.

"We agreed on appointing deans to head 14 faculties at the LU,” Information Minister Ramzi Jreij announced after the cabinet's session on Thursday afternoon, noting also that an agreement was reached on applying a rotation scheme in the appointment of future deans.

The cabinet's breakthrough in this issue came after six years of stalling, amid relentless protests by teachers and students demanding reform in the state's national university.

LBCI television said Education Minister Elias Bou Saab held talks with Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi over the issue on the sidelines of Thursday's cabinet session.

LBCI said the ministers agreed on the appointment of Jean Daoud, Jassem Ajaqa and Layla Bou Nassif as deans, who are all close to the Kataeb Party.

The Progressive Socialist Party had demanded naming a Christian dean to head the Faculty of Medicine, while the Kataeb insisted on appointing two deans instead of one.

As soon as the news about the cabinet's decision broke out, protesting professors started celebrating and considered the breakthrough “a victory not for the LU only, but for future generations” in Lebanon as well.

"This is a result of professors' struggle, the cabinet's understanding (of the issue) and of Minister Bou Saab's efforts,” a teacher said.

Many deans at the LU were acting deans and had not been officially appointed as heads of the university's faculties.

And the cabinet had said previously that it won't change the employment status of contract teachers before appointing the university's council.

But on Thursday, it agreed on signing full-time employment contracts with candidates proposed by the Ministry of Education.

Also during Thursday's ministerial session, the cabinet agreed on providing the necessary credits to pay the public employees' salaries before the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The salaries will be deducted from the Budget's reserves, Jreij remarked.

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil detailed to reporters how the agreement was reached.

“During the cabinet's session, we made calls to start paying the salaries of public employees and we launched the necessary procedures in this regard to assure that everyone gets paid,” Khalil said.

He continued: “I had said there should be no agreement without a law and that expenses require legislation. Based on this, we took our decision after the cabinet referred the draft law to parliament.”

But he reiterated his calls for adopting a law in this regard.

“The safest solution remains heading to the parliament and opening credits, but after negotiations with different blocs, it has been decided to transfer all remaining amounts in the Budget's reserves to article 13 in the Budget, which tackles the employees' salaries,” the Minister of Finance elaborated.

“This stresses again the cabinet and all forces' need to prepare a draft law and vote on it at the parliament. I kept my promise not to violate the law, not only regarding the public employees' salaries, but also in what concerns all the state's expenses.”

In a separate matter, Jreij revealed that the cabinet tasked the Foreign Minister with filing two complaints with the International Criminal Court to investigate and convict the Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip, and to ask for a probe to deplore the acts of Takfiri groups that are causing the forced migration of Christians in Iraq's Mosul.

“The council of ministers condemned the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza and the barbaric acts committed by the Israeli killing machine. It also announced its solidarity with the Palestinians in their struggle to end the occupation,” the Information Minister said.

He added: “The cabinet also deplored acts against Christians in Iraq, particularly in Mosul because they are contradictory to coexistence that our region is accustomed to. These acts are committed based on ideologies that have nothing to do with human values or religions.”

S.D.B.

Y.R.