Salem Ruwaiha, Secretary of the Steering Committee of the Libyan Teachers’ Syndicate, confirmed that textbooks have not yet reached all education monitoring offices, noting that they were supposed to arrive before the start of the school year on September 21. Meanwhile, “the thirty-sixth day of the school year is passing without books being available in schools,” he stated in a comment to the ‘Libya Al-Ahrar’ channel, which broadcasts from Turkey, as followed by Al-Marsad newspaper.
The Textbook Crisis and Its Repercussions
Ruwaiha explained that the delay in supplying the textbooks has disrupted the educational process and that the responsibility for delivering the curriculum to schools should have been settled before the start of classes, emphasizing that the current situation is confusing for both students and teachers.
Commenting on the Minister’s Statements
Ruwaiha commented on the Minister of Education’s statements regarding “drug use,” saying that the minister “could have avoided getting into a problem like this,” and that “if such cases do exist, it would be better to deal with them through other solutions, not by generalizing and defaming teachers.”
Rejection of Generalization and Considering the Statements a “Slander Against Teachers”
He added that the minister “did not specify a particular group but said that there are teachers who use drugs,” stressing: “Teachers partake in the love of their country, they leave their homes at the call to prayer, and they work in the countryside and under the sun.” He considered what was said “a slander against teachers” that could have been addressed by individually following up on the cases.
Demand for Resignation and a Path of Escalation
Ruwaiha indicated that the syndicate’s statement is moving towards escalation and demanding the minister’s resignation, saying: “We will not be satisfied until the minister steps down from the ministry. Minister Ali Al-Abed holds three ministries; is the state devoid of competent individuals? An ordinary citizen is prosecuted for holding dual roles, so how can this be accepted from a minister?” He explained that the syndicate tried to avoid sit-ins and school closures but “will be forced to escalate by closing schools and organizing sit-ins and protests” if the minister remains in his post, along with forming a committee to approach the national government to demand his dismissal.