Students of the Beirut Arab University (BAU) are holding a sit-in in front of their university campus in Beirut and Tripoli in protest against their administration’s decision to raise tuition fees and in cash dollars.
Their university has decided to increase the fees to 600 U.S. dollars to be paid in dollars “Fresh”.
They are demanding that the university administration reverses this unfair decision at a time when the country is living dire economic crisis and hyperinflation, in addition to the difficulty to access fresh dollars.
The students issued a statement in which they accused the “ruling political and financial systems” to have brought the country to a tragic phase of economic collapse, and accused the university of adding to the hardships by “confiscating education.”
Their statement posted on their Instagram page continued with:
“These unfair fiscal policies lead to violations against students at several levels:”
“The dollar’s dollar exchange rate at 5,000 Lebanese pounds is considered to be contrary to the Higher Education Act in Lebanon which stipulates that the official exchange rate is the exchange rate set by the Central Bank.”
“Lack of financial transparency with university students, such as access to university expenses and profits.“
“The absence of a culture of participatory management manifested by the involvement of students in the decision-making process through the presence of elected legitimate student councils.”
“The lack of a “student contract” that takes care of the student’s relationship with the university.” the statement ends with.
This is not the first university in Lebanon to impose tuition fees in Fresh Dollars, making it practically impossible for many students to continue their education.
There have been previous sit-ins and lawsuits by students against their universities because of that as the major percentage of students can not afford to pay additional fees.
