AME EDUCATION
SECTOR PROFILE
Lebanon
Lebanon
Education Structure
Education System Structure and
Enrollments 2007
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. World Bank EdStats
Lebanon
Education Structure
• Compulsory education in Lebanon is from grades 1-9.
% Net
% Gross
Education Configuration and Enrollment Percentages Enrollments Enrollments
Classification
Pre-primary
Level/Grade
Pre-school
Primary, grades 1-6
Lower Secondary,
grades 7-9
Pre-university
Upper secondary,
grades 10-12
Tertiary
Ages
2007
3-5
64%
2007
67%
6-11
83%
95%
12-14
15-17
TVET Secondary
15-17
Undergraduate
study
Graduate study
17-22
22+
87%
73%
75%
14%
N/A
52%*
* Includes all of secondary. ** Includes all categories of post-secondary.
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics,
Lebanon
Population Structure
• 53% of the population is under the age of 30 but that age group is
not projected to grow much larger in the nearer term.
• Good educational opportunities for these young people are
necessary to support national economic growth.
Population Structure: Lebanon 2008
30-65 yrs
39%
65+ yrs
8%
0-14 yrs
27%
15-29 yrs
26%
Source: International Labor Organization
Lebanon
Education Policy
Relevant Policies:
• Social Action Plan Toward Strengthening Social Safety
Nets and Access To Basic Social Services, 2007.
http://www.economy.gov.lb/MOET/English/Navigation/News/SocialAction
Plan2007.htm
• Development Plan for Education in Lebanon, 2008. [in
French]
http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/format_liste1_en.php?Chp2=Lebanon
Lebanon
Education Access: Pre-university
• Secondary enrollments have increased at a marginally greater rate
since 1990 at an average of 7.2% than primary education at 5.4%.
• Enrollments are quite high indicating the strength of the system to
draw children to school.
Pre-university Enrollments
90%
1990
80%
Enrollments (%)
70%
2008
60%
50%
40%
* Preprimary
and TVET
Secondary
are gross
enrollments
from 2000.
30%
20%
10%
0%
Preprimary
Primary
TVET Secondary
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, World Bank EdStats
Total Secondary
Lebanon
Education Access: Tertiary
• Despite rising university enrollments (18% since 2000), distribution
of students among levels of study has remained remarkably stable.
• Higher education produces few graduate degrees, perhaps an
indication of difficulties of students to matriculate through the system.
100
University Enrollment and Distribution of Students
90
Enrollments (%)
80
70
GER
60
50
% 4 yr
40
30
% 2-3 yr
20
%
graduate
10
0
2000
2002
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
2006
2007
Lebanon
Education Access: Gender
• Girls are more successful at accessing secondary education with an
enrollment rate 7% higher than boys’ rate.
• Gender parity (0.97) has nearly been achieved at the primary level
with almost equal boys’ and girls’ enrollments.
Pre-university Net Enrollments by Gender
95.0%
Enrollments (%)
90.0%
85.0%
80.0%
75.0%
70.0%
65.0%
60.0%
55.0%
1997
Primary Boys
Source: World Bank EdStats
2000
Primary Girls
2003
2006
Secondary Boys
2008
Secondary Girls
Lebanon
Education Quality: Teachers
• Lebanon has approximately 88,000 teachers in general education.
•11-13% of all teachers, grades1-12, are trained but no further
information can be found on the process or requirements of
professional development.
• The average teacher to pupil ratio for grades 1-12 is 11:1 which
seems sufficient to cover all classes but may be low in efficiency
terms.
• Information on teacher recruitment, deployment, qualification
standards and training in the public and private sector is limited.
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Lebanon
Education Quality: Completion
• Completion rates declined 13% from 1999-2005 but have since
seen a slight rise.
• Girls are consistently more successful at completing primary school.
Primary Completion Rates by Gender
100
Completion (%)
95
90
85
80
Boys
75
Girls
70
65
60
1999
2001
Source: World Development Indicators (WDI)
2003
2005
2007
2008
Lebanon
Education Quality: Testing
• Lebanon students achieved the highest mean math score (449) of
MENA participant countries on the 2007 test but continue to rank at
the low-intermediate level internationally (31 out of 45).
• 2007 mean TIMSS scores improved an average of 18 points from
2003 scores.
Mean Gr. 8 TIMSS Scores MENA 2007
700
Mean TIMSS Score
Advanced Benchmark
600
High Benchmark
500
Intermediate Benchmark
Low Benchmark
400
300
200
100
0
Egypt
Jordan
Lebanon
Morocco
Science
WB/G
Math
Source: Trends in International Math and Science Study 2007
Singapore
USA
Lebanon
Education Equity: Academic Disparities
• Expenditure on pre-university private education amounts to 6% of
the GDP.
• Approximately 60% of all Lebanese children attend private school.
Pre-university Public/Private Enrollments 2006-07
120.0%
Enrollments (%)
100.0%
80.0%
45.4%
61.8%
57.6%
60.0%
46.9%
50.9%
0.0%
22.2%
40.0%
0.0%
16.0%
20.0%
22.1%
32.4%
42.4%
13.5%
53.1%
35.6%
0.0%
Preprimary
Primary
Public
Source: Lebanon Ministry of Education
Junior
Secondary
Secondary
Semi-Private
Private
Total
Lebanon
Education Efficiency: Expenditure
• Lebanon is the lowest spender on education in the region but
together with the large expenditures of the private sector, education
is well-supported in the country.
Public Spending on Education in MENA
Share of GDP
OECD
Share of Publc Spending
5
1
18
MENA
5.2
17.5
West Bank/Gaza
6.2
11.5
Morocco
28
2.3
Lebanon
12.5
6.8
Yemen
21.2
6.5
Jordan
13.5
6
Egypt
18
Source: World Bank EdStats, World Bank 2008, Yemen Ministry of Higher Education
Lebanon
Education Efficiency: Expenditure
• As a result of focused spending on pre-university levels ,
enrollments have consistently increased. Now the government needs
to focus on improving quality of education in the classroom.
Education Spending Pattern 2005
30%
25%
36%
9%
Primary
Source: World Bank EdStats
Secondary
Tertiary
Other
Lebanon
Education Efficiency: Repetition
• Repetition rates at both levels are quite high and have not declined
significantly over the years.
Pre-university Repetition Rates
13
Repetition Rate (%)
12
11
10
9
8
7
Primary
6
Secondary
5
4
1990
2000
Source: World Development Indicators (WDI)
2002
2004
2007
Lebanon
Education Efficiency: Repetition
• Using repetition as an indicator of quality, private schools provide a
better education than public schools do.
• Private schools have minimal percentages of two or more year
repeaters while public schools have 4-11% more across all levels.
Percentage Repeaters by Type of School
45.0%
19.2%
Repeaters (%)
40.0%
14.0%
Repeated
Two or More
Years, % of
Total
Enrollment
19.8%
Repeated
One Yr, % of
Total
Enrollment
35.0%
30.0%
10.3%
25.0%
15.1%
11.4%
20.0%
15.0%
7.2%
3.1%
10.0%
5.0%
4.2%
12.3% 10.9%
6.0%
6.2%
Public
Private
19.5%
13.1%
8.6%
2.6%
6.8%
0.0%
Total
Primary
Source: Lebanon Ministry of Education
Public
Private
Total
Lower Secondary
Public
Private
Secondary
Total
Lebanon
Education Efficiency: Repetition
• Lebanon is the poorest performing country in the region as far as
public expenditure on education and addressing the repetition issue.
Public Spending on Education and Primary Repetition Rates
MENA (most recent years 2001-2007)
14
% GDP
12
Repetition
Percentage
10
8
6
4
2
0
Morocco
Jordan
Source: World Bank EdStats
Egypt
Lebanon
Yemen
MENA
OECD
Lebanon
Education: Conclusion
Successes:
• Access: High primary and rising secondary enrollments. Approaching
gender parity at primary. On track to attain UPE.
• Quality: Improving scores on the TIMSS. Highest math score regionally.
• Equity:
• Efficiency: Equitable division of budget across education levels.
Challenges:
• Access: Lower access rates for males from secondary level on up.
• Quality: High and intractable repetition rates. Poorly qualified teachers.
• Equity: Parallel education system offered by the private sector which favors
wealthier students.
• Efficiency: Inadequate education expenditures to address repetition rates.