Today, British Ambassador to Lebanon Chris Rampling
launched UK-Lebanon Year of Education 2020 campaign
during the British Council’s partnership agreement with
the American University of Beirut (AUB) for Computer
Delivered International English Language Testing
System) IELTS (in the presence of HE Minister of
Education and Higher Education Akram Chehayeb, MP Bahia
Hariri, Director of the British Council David Knox, AUB
Provost Dr. Mohamed Harajli and Dr Karma El Hassan,
Director, Office of Institutional Research &
Assessment at AUB, representative of the Lebanese Army
Commander, General Camile Faisal, and representative of
the HEAD of the Internal Security Forces Colonel Elie
El Asmar.
The joint agreement will see the establishment of the
first ever in Lebanon computer online delivered IELTS
which will make it significantly easier for students to
gain necessary English language qualifications, and
compete in the global market. More than 10,000
organisations globally trust IELTS, which gives
confidence to those taking the test that it is
recognised by educational institutions, employers,
governments and professional bodies around the world.
The Year of Education 2020 campaign builds on the UK’s
substantive education support to Lebanon, providing
over $200 million between 2016 and 2021, placing it
amongst the top education donors in Lebanon. The Year
of Education 2020 campaign will see continued work with
the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to
expand education access, quality and systems. It will
support more inclusive education for children with
special educational needs, promote Lebanon as an
important investment opportunity for UK EdTech firms,
and strengthen and expand British-Lebanese university
links. The campaign will also better celebrate UK
educated Lebanese alumni and increase English language
training – including in places outside of the capital–
and champion the use of UK qualifications.
Following the event, British Ambassador Chris Rampling
said:
It is a great privilege for us to be here. Thank you
to the American University of Beirut for hosting us
and for their collaboration with the British Council
on the launch of the Computer Delivered IELTS in
Beirut. The partnership is not the first with this
highly distinguished institution. But it is a great
point of pride to me personally that the British
Council, with its excellent history in this country,
is partnering with one of Lebanon’s top academic
institutions.
And there is no better way to launch the UK-Lebanon
Year of Education 2020 than with you all: Lebanese –
and partners of this amazing country – who are
determined to build a bright future for Lebanon and
for those who live in Lebanon. Because the UK is
proud to partner a country that not only values,
promotes and prioritises education, but also a
country that has bravely and commendably committed to
providing education to all children within the
country.
Four of the top 10 universities in the world are
British. Over a third of Nobel Prize winners who have
studied overseas have done so in the UK. The English
language is truly the world’s language, and UK
qualifications are recognised for their quality and
credibility across the globe. As a sign of our
education leadership, in the last five years there
has been a 90% increase in the number of Lebanese
students studying in the UK. Education is not just
about schools and universities.
And our support goes beyond further. Over 200
Lebanese students have studied in the UK through the
prestigious Chevening programme and are now part of a
wider network of over 50,000 Cheveners around the
world. When it comes to training support, over 200
Lebanese Army officers have trained at the UK’s elite
military training institutions – some of the very
best military establishments in the World. The UK is
also proud to have trained 11,000 Lebanese Army
soldiers here in Lebanon, along with training
programmes for the Internal Security Forces. And we
continue to work closely with the Ministry of
Education and Higher Education to support quality
formal, non-formal and inclusive education to all
children across Lebanon.
Minister of Education and Higher Education Akram
Chehayeb:
The year of Education for us is the year of
challenges on all levels. The challenge of ourselves
to continue providing good learning despite the
difficulties. The challenge to develop education and
move to the digital era amidst all the pressures and
economic difficulties. The challenge of openness on
the educational systems adopted in the advanced
countries despite the wars and regional tension and
blocked horizon.
Today’s ceremony is a symbolic event that reveals the
level of excellence that we at the Ministry of
Education and Higher Education are trying to reach,
with the support of our true friends, namely the
British Government and the American University of
Beirut (AUB), along with the cultural, educational
and technological renowned institutions. It is an
occasion for us to express our pride of these
friendships and fruitful relations, and to express
our gratitude to the British and American sides,
particularly that the UK is among the leading donors
to Lebanon in the educational sector for Lebanese and
non-Lebanese.
AUB Provost Dr. Mohamed Harajli said:
We look forward to seeing the impact of this Year of
Education being celebrated by the British embassy in
Lebanon, with events that will highlight and expand
the great work that the uk in Lebanon and the British
Council are in this country and the region. We are
the American University of Beirut and we all know
that America and Britain have a “special
relationship” in the world, and we are happy to carry
that on between our two organizations.
