Education

Many Lebanese children do not attend school for economic reasons, whether because they must work to support their families or because their families cannot afford school-related expenses. Deteriorating conditions since the civil war and the economic crisis have pushed gross school enrollment down.

According to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources, Lebanon's gross school enrollment rate stands at 60%, lower than Qatar (86%) and Jordan (65%). Although only limited data is available, it is estimated that 25% of the Lebanese population lives on less than four US dollars a day. Many communities are marginalized, living in poverty, under-served by water and electricity, and essentially ignored by the government.

MFA's action plan. Through its Scholarship Fund, MFA works closely with Makassed Philanthropic Islamic Association of Beirut to provide full or partial scholarships to needy students and to restore schools and classrooms. Makassed runs six schools in Beirut and seven schools in remote areas. It provides quality education to more than 9,000 enrolled students, of which 5,100 benefit from its scholarships.

MFA also grants university scholarship assistance to exceptional students enrolled in universities in the USA.