BEIRUT: Classes will resume normally at a Tripoli Lebanese University branch rocked by protests in the past weeks over the appointment of a Christian director, the education minister said.
“As of Thursday, normal classes will resume in the Faculty of Economics and Business,” Education Minister Elias Bou Saab told a news conference at the Education Ministry Monday.
All branches of Lebanese University will have one month to re-examine the appointments of faculty directors in a manner which respected the National Pact of confessional power-sharing, Bou Saab added.
Exams have been postponed at LU’s Economics and Business Faculty in Tripoli following demonstrations against the appointment of a Christian director, prompting the Education Ministry to take notice. Around 1,300 students have their classes there.
Students have erected protest tents at the entrance to the campus Monday to keep up pressure for their demand to replace Jamila Yammin with a Sunni director.
Yammin was appointed last week to head the school.
Similar demonstrations broke out in February when LU President Adnan Sayyed Hussein appointed Antoine Tannous, another Christian LU professor, to head the branch.
Faced with relentless protests, Sayyed Hussein suspended his decision and tasked the dean of the faculty Ghassan Shlouq with managing the Tripoli branch, before appointing Yammin as new director earlier this month.
The protesters are supporters of the Future Movement, former Prime Minister Najib Mikati and other Sunni officials in the city.
The protesting parties complain that Sayyed Hussein does not discuss the appointment of Sunni directors with Sunni parties and accuse him of ignoring the tradition of maintaining an equal number of Sunni and Shiite LU directors, a norm which had prevailed in previous years.
Bou Saab’s remarks came after he chaired a meeting with professors representing political parties that are influential in the Tripoli branch along with Yammin and Shlouq.
Yammin will not be replaced, Bou Saab said, adding that she and Shlouq will agree on a new date for holding exams in the faculty.
Bou Saab highlighted the independence of the university, stressing that political parties should not interfere in its affairs.
The minister added that he contacted all political parties in the north in a bid to avoid any problem at the Tripoli branch in the future.
Bou Saab said that he also contacted Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri who assured him that politician approved “academic solutions” to end the crisis.
The issue concerning representation is not restricted to Tripoli, he added, noting that Lebanese University branches in south Lebanon, Mount Lebanon and Beirut have expressed similar concerns.
The problem is not only focused on the appointment of a Christian director, but relates to the fact that a “certain group” feels as though they are being marginalized, he said. “The appointment of the Christian director was only the last straw.”
Bou Saab said the re-examination of appointments would take into consideration the merit and sect of the candidate. But he underlined that no formula could be adopted that would create quotas for Muslims and Christians.
“Currently, there are 29 Muslims and 20 Christian directors in branches across Lebanon ... but we will not dictate a formula,” he said.
The minister said that Monday’s decisions were not carried out in coordination with Sayyed Hussein, due to disagreement between the two.
The dispute was due to Bou Saab’s opposition to the manner in which the president was making decisions and his refusal to engage in dialogue.
Despite the disparity, Bou Saab said he would coordinate with Sayyed Hussein to resolve the issue of appointments in a balanced manner.
Bou Saab acknowledged that LU president had the power to appoint directors, but added that the education minister had a supervisory authority and could intervene when there was a problem.
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