The battle for dollar bonuses precedes the school year



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Natalie Iglemus wrote in The Republic:

Youth organizations of political parties are preparing to defend the Lebanese pound, as some of the representatives with whom the Republic spoke, protesting against the decision of the American University of Beirut (AUB) that students should be paid on next semester in US dollars. "The dollar instead of the Lebanese pound." In this context, "Republic" learned that a group of students was preparing to visit the Minister of Education and Higher Education Akram Shuhaib to express it to him. its cry, opposing the university's decision and its suspicious calendar, while the majority of parties plan to organize a general movement gathered under the angle "one can differ in politics National concern unites us ".
Data, contacts, encounters as "p fire" movements. Four stations summarize the path of objections taken by the parties and student clubs of the American University of Beirut (AUB) about the decision to pay installments in foreign currency. After the student cells were busy drafting the denunciations last weekend, they stepped up their contacts earlier this week, while others prepare to move on to meetings.

Behind the scenes, everyone is ready to act, but is waiting for the right moment to prevent any "imperfect pedal" at the doors of the academic year, while the country goes through convulsive political conditions and carries no interpretation of the movement students or partisan "Zakzka".

"Hope"

Amal students appear to be in the third phase of the interception process.After the Central Office of Youth and Sports of the American University of Beirut, in a statement, denounced "the new university decision and the payment of the US dollar instead of the Lebanese pound ". "All students in solidarity and act to protect our national currency".

This morning at 10 am he will meet with the head of the Central Youth and Sports Bureau of Amal. Dr. Ali Ybadin, Dean of Student Affairs at the American University, Dr. Talal Nizamuddin for the implications of the decision and its schedule.

"The timing of the decision by the university in this unenviable economic situation creates suspicion, questions about its origin and negatively affects the trust of the institutions operating in the reading," Ybadin said.

Addressing Al-Jumhuriya, Ybadin urges the university administration to reconsider its decision, stating, "We appeal to the administration, fully aware of the situation. the negative impact of its decision on the national financial situation, for it to reconsider its decision. "

He added: "We already knew the painful decision and we learned that the university had joined a group of 800 American institutions, which allowed to deal with the dollar, but at the same time, the American in Beirut has always had great national positions in Lebanon since the civil war to date. "The economic difficulties we are going through are forcing us to strengthen our confidence in the national pound, and if confidence in it is shaken, the economy is shaken by it, so we rely heavily on our meeting today." 39, with the head of the student affairs office to voice our concerns. "

"Progressive socialism"

For its part, the youth organization of the Progressive Socialist Party denounced the movement of the administration of the American university as a blow to confidence in the Lebanese national currency, which is under pressure facing the major economic challenges that threaten the integrity of the Lebanese economy.

In this context, the secretary general of the youth organization of the Progressive Socialist Party Mohamed Mansour "said that the decision made by the university was a blow to the confidence of the local currency, which is reprehensible and sentenced. Party and student clubs all.

In an interview with "Republic", he explained: "The University is a national heritage and there is no doubt that this shows the interest of the country, the administration can only trust the currency and, in particular, to this difficult economic situation, stressing that "the economic situation is not without strikes or crises. "Any movement that bounces on the spine, which is the economy."

"We may not be able to travel to the campus because August and everyone is on vacation, but there is no doubt that we will be moving in a few hours until the contacts between the clubs be completed. "

"To come up"

"Lebanese warehouseman and rush to the dollar! Despite the delay shown by the students of the Future Movement, they feel that they are struck at the heart of the future. "We were cautious from the first moment to know the decision because the university's statement is short and inadequate," says Bakr Halawi, head of the private universities file. But we asked the university for clarification on the context of its position and its reasons, and we began to receive answers, including convincing and unconvincing.

He adds: "If the decision remains in force as it is obvious, we will oppose it because the students are mainly Lebanese and their income is Lebanese", underlining that "we decided to move from the inside to the Outside and on the ground, we can correct the problem before it gets worse or take another step. "

"Strengths"

As for the Lebanese Forces party, the head of the Department of American universities in the interest of students "forces" Joe Mike Hashash in an interview with "Republic" according to which "the picture is still unclear, but the implementation the decision of the administration will hurt the students and cause additional expenses, so that the concerned and sensitive to the situation Students make a reduction of some expenses in compensation to the students for the differences that they will suffer. "

Hashash said: "We will refer you to economic references to determine the implications of the decision.We will also review the legal references to determine if the university decision can be applied in Lebanon.We will also communicate with the clubs and the partners to implement what can be done. "

"But at the same time, we will not forget that the university is private and American, so it can be difficult to impose anything on them or link them to specific decisions."

"The decision of the administration is perhaps at the origin of a general apprehension on the economic situation in Lebanon, but in all cases, the administration has a thousand solutions to compensate and relieve the students. "

The AUB clarifies

On the other hand, after posting on its website, the university said: "Starting in the fall of 2019, it will charge in US dollars instead of the Lebanese pound for tuition , housing and other, and bills in other currencies will be spent at the market exchange rate. " The reason for "AUB's membership to the joint application for admission to nearly 900 US and international institutions," says the US Simon Kosher University's media bureau in a interview with "Republic": "About a year ago, work on the" American "project in Beirut began. This is called Mai common application helps us to more include students from us around the world, and this issue of the exchange technology, as well as the conditions imposed for the affiliation to this group to face 'world currencies, saying' that the university hoped to deal in Bannanah lira, but we must manage the world currency '.

He adds, "Confusion with students is why we are forced to pay in dollars, but in reality, they are not obliged to pay the dollar, they can pay in the currency of their choice, the l? student who deals with the payment of installments is not directly with the university, but with the bank. He explained the decision wrongly, pointing out that "the doors of the university open to hear different points of view of students and show the interest of the student before any consideration" .

The "LAU" condemns

While some media and websites have cited the example of the Lebanese American University (UAL) in the same way as AUB, the UAL administration has denounced everything that circulates. about the dollar bonuses, "explaining:" Eight years ago, the LAU billed university fees in US dollars. One day, students would be forced to pay their tuition fees in any foreign currency, but would provide them with a range of options to pay tuition fees to help them overcome difficult situations ".

She added, "National currency trading is a pride of the University of LAU, which positively influences its nearest and farthest environment, and is a catalyst for the Lebanese national economy on many levels. The university wishes to recall the announcement of its president, Dr. Joseph Jabra, on the economic impact of the university on the national economy, estimated at 1,350 billion Lebanese pounds. , equivalent to 897 million US dollars in various economic sectors.

"Why after paying us!"

In conclusion, while students disagree on payments in dollars or Lebanese pounds, a significant number of them express their grief in a difficult economic context: "What interests us, whether it is payments in dollars or in Lebanese pounds, we can not pay or continue. We hope to replace the battle that brings money by the battle to increase rebates and expand the number of grants. "

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