BEIRUT – The Director General of  the Ministry of Education and Higher
Education in Lebanon, Mr. Imad Al Achkar, has received HE Dr. Talal
Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global),
and his accompanying delegation to discuss means of cooperation for developing
the education process.

During the meeting, Mr. Al Achkar briefed
Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh on the education reality and the crisis the Ministry is
experiencing due to the collapse of the Lebanese lira against the US dollar;
which significantly affected the teachers’ salaries and the Ministry's
capabilities. He noted that the Ministry is currently struggling to secure the
basic needs in schools and institutes, especially securing the essential
funding to print textbooks and school supplies for this year.

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh reacted to his host’s
remarks referring to the plan he is jointly implementing with the official
authorities in Lebanon toward enhancing digital transformation and fighting
digital illiteracy.

He, further, called on the Ministry to
immediately adopt the ‘Smart School Bag’ by converting textbooks into e-books,
which will decrease the Ministry's financial burdens and at the same time
reduce the heavy weight of books on the students’ backs. That is in addition to
adopting an interactive education system that enriches the students’  knowledge and experiences.

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh also stressed
TAG.Global’s readiness to devote all its resources and expertise to help the
Ministry achieve this goal, emphasizing the need to keep pace with the
e-transformation process in all the country’s public institutions and departments,
particularly education.

It is worth mentioning that the meeting was
attended by TAG.Global Chair of Group Management Board, Mr. Salah Abu Osbeh,
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh & Co. International (TAGI) Executive Director in
Lebanon, Mr. Marwan Abu-Sahyoun, and Representative of HE Dr. Talal
Abu-Ghazaleh for Culture and Media in Lebanon, Mr. Burhan Al Ashkar, in
addition to the MENA EdTech Alliance President, Dr. Rabie Baalbaki, and
Vice-President of the Alliance for International Partnerships and Relations
Coordinator, Ms. Nora Al-Murabi.