Controversy Surrounds Unauthorized Reprint of Education Manual in Lebanon

The crisis is having effects on education in Lebanon that few could have suspected. As evidenced by the latest controversy that occurred on Saturday, a few days before the start of the school year in the public sector. Its purpose is an unauthorized reprint by the Ministry of Education. ‘a civic education manual. On the cover of this book: the United Nations headquarters on which, among others… the Israeli flag flies. One of the underlying causes of this incident: the fact that no publishing house did not participate in the call for tenders for the official reprint of the manual, which provides for payment in Lebanese pounds, at a time when the national currency has experienced a record depreciation in recent years.

Lebanon does not recognize Israel and the Israeli flag is strictly prohibited in school textbooks, while the name of the Jewish state is replaced by “occupied Palestine” in educational texts.

In a press release, the Ministry of Education denounced “an increase in copies and reprints of textbooks published by the CRDP, the latest being a civic education manual, for which the CRDP normally has the exclusive rights guaranteed by the Constitution. On the cover of this book, according to the press release, we see the UN building, on which the Israeli flag flies among the flags of other countries. The ministry warned schools against using such textbooks, while calling on security forces to intervene to stop unauthorized reprinting. The text explains, however, that this situation was caused “by the current economic conditions (…) and the fact that no publishing house is willing to participate in calls for tenders for the printing of school textbooks in Lebanese books.

Two sources at the Ministry of Education contacted by The Orient-The Day were unable to provide information on the exact number of textbooks printed without authorization, the regions where these books were sold, as well as the classes involved.

In response, Minister Halabi asked CRDP President Hiyam Ishak, as well as the Center’s legal department, “to take legal measures against all people who have illegally copied, printed, or altered the school textbook of civic education and citizenship education, and having violated the rights to produce official school textbooks.” Ms. Ishak was also tasked with closely monitoring the falsification of textbooks and the distortion of their content, in collaboration with the publishers’ union, which works in close coordination with the CRDP and the Ministry of Education.

Condemning a “double illegality” of the actions undertaken by the publishing house concerned, the publication of an Israeli flag and the reprinting without legal authorization, a source in the ministry assured that the file is in the hands of the police and the authorities competent”.

Books withdrawn from the market
In a statement released on Saturday, the Dar Aoun publishing house, which was behind the printing of the book featuring the Israeli flag, apologized for what it called an “unintentional error.” “When we published the civic education manual for the year 2024 (…), we unintentionally included a photo of the flag of the usurping Israeli entity.” The publisher apologized and pledged to withdraw these textbooks from the market, recalling that the owner of the publishing house is “known for his positions towards the Israeli enemy and in favor of the just cause of the Palestinian people “. According to the address of the company, mentioned in the press release, it is located in the southern suburbs of Beirut, zone of influence of Hezbollah, sworn enemy of the Hebrew state.

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Contacted, the president of the CRDP estimated that the version reprinted by Dar Aoun is “a pure and simple plagiarism of the version published by the Center, the only difference of which is the cover”. She specified that a complaint was filed and that the owner of the publishing house asked to see the CRDP on Monday.

Asked about the legal and official way to access this textbook, given that it will not be reprinted this year, Hiyam Ishak explained that the ministry “has produced a digital version which is accessible to all students in private schools and public. All you need to do is access an application created by the ministry and the student has identifiers and their school is registered with the ministry.” An alternative whose manager nevertheless recognizes the limits, due in particular to the lack of promotion of the application mentioned in schools and to the limited access of certain students to electronic devices.

During the day on Saturday, the Federation of Private School Teachers condemned “the exploitation of the difficult economic situation by certain traders, as well as the lack of official supervision”, which led to this situation.