Jawad cried as he cleared his office at Beirut Baptist School in late July. He didn’t want to leave his teaching position at the school he had known for most of his life, but the rising cost of living in Lebanon left him with no other choice. Rent, groceries, transportation, and a host of other expenses were becoming too much for his modest salary at BBS to cover. Nearing 28 years old, he also knew that he needed to find a better paying job if he wanted to build a foundation for starting a family.
While most of the attention on Lebanon is focused on the escalating conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, a host of other issues have afflicted the country for nearly five years. One is a financial collapse that the World Bank described in 2021 as being among the worst economic crises since the 1850s. Beginning in 2019, the crisis threw millions of people into poverty as the local currency plummeted in value and banks enacted informal restrictions on withdrawing cash. Coupled together, people saw their life savings vanish virtually overnight.
Like most other young Lebanese, the crisis put Jawad into a financial dilemma that has only worsened. Teachers worldwide are often considered underpaid, but in Lebanon, the pay for some is even worse.
Jawad didn’t blame BBS. On the contrary, he understood and respected the reason behind his modest salary. BBS purposely keeps its tuition fees low in order to remain accessible to middle- and lower-class families. By doing so, it offers life-transforming, quality education that its several thousand students might otherwise not have access to. “With all that’s happening, I think BBS has done a great job to actually help most of the students to remain there and not leave because of the crises,” Jawad said.
But affordability comes at a price. Less income means lower salaries.
“It’s hard for someone to leave home,” Jawad later reflected. Leaving BBS meant saying goodbye to the school he attended from 1st to 12th grade and where he had been introduced to the Gospel. It also meant saying goodbye to his students.
Jawad had been more than just an instructor to them. He helped his students bake birthday cakes, he organized and hosted celebratory dinners, and he led group study sessions before exams. Originally from a non-Christian background himself, Jawad understood the lives of many of his students and the struggles they faced. For seven years, he helped them navigate personal challenges and national upheaval. As the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel erupted and then escalated, he fostered an environment that felt safe and secure for his students, some of whom had family in southern Lebanon where the bulk of fighting occurs. Jawad believed in BBS’ mission, and guided by his Christian faith, he sought to have the same impact on students as teachers had had on him.
“BBS is a lighthouse,” Jawad said. “For so many years, it’s been a foundational presence to the area it’s located in. It’s a place where people know that people there are believers, that they follow Christ. It’s a light in the middle of the darkness, where everything is politicized.”
Through decades of service, BBS has built a reputation for providing high-quality education. That has proven to be a double-edged sword, noted BBS Principal Alice Azar. “If you Google BBS, you can see that it’s one of the top 10 schools in Beirut,” she said. “This is good for parents and for students, but it turned out to be negative for us, because other, richer schools are attracting our teachers, and they can pay them a lot more.”
Such was the case for Jawad. Shortly before his contract at BBS reached its renewal date, another reputable private school – with tuition rates four times higher than BBS – offered him a job. Though the position was lower than his current one at BBS, it included a salary nearly three times more than what BBS could pay.
Jawad wasn’t the only teacher to accept such an offer. The school nurse and 26 other teachers also left for higher-paying jobs.
The exit of so many teachers, some of whom had years of experience, highlights the persistence of the economic crisis and how it threatens the mission of BBS. BBS wants to continue providing affordable, high-quality, life-changing education, especially given that an estimated 70 to 80 percent of students in Lebanon are enrolled in private schools. But it faces daunting financial challenges, especially since it is not supported by churches or political parties like some other private schools. In addition to salaries, the school must cover other costs, like providing specialized education for students with disabilities – something that not all schools offer.
Donations from partners have helped cover such fees, as well as financial aid, but there remain challenges. In recent weeks, seven teachers started training on Montessori Education, a hands-on educational technique that will ensure BBS continues to provide quality education. But financial constraints limited the number of teachers who could partake in the training.
To help meet its financial needs, BBS will raise tuition fees this upcoming academic year. The modest increase will keep its tuition rates lower than those of other private schools with similar academic standing, while allowing it to give teachers a modest pay raise. But it still comes at a cost. So far, thirty students have had to leave.
As daunting as the financial challenges are, BBS is navigating them to the best of its ability. “We continue to trust Him to provide,” Azar, the principal, said.
“We need to be able to stand on our feet and to be able to pay salaries, to pay all the expenses of the school, which is a big challenge,” acknowledged Ruth Saliby, the head of preschool at BBS. She noted too “other challenges, the unexpected things that might happen. But these we deal with when they come. We don’t worry about them. We put them in God’s hands. He’s been faithful. He kept us safe throughout all these years.”
From one crisis to the next, some more dangerous and lethal than others, Saliby noted that no one in the school has been hurt. “I really believe that the hand of God is above BBS,” she said. She believes that His hand will continue to be over BBS, protecting its staff and students from harm and helping the school to navigate whatever crisis comes its way. “We put our needs in His hands, the little needs and the big needs. We know that He will provide in time.”
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