Last update - 00:00 08/10/2006
Lebanese schools stay closed as gov't scrambles to repair war damage
By DPA
Lebanese Minister of Education Khaled Kabbani said Sunday that the back-to-school date for public schools would be delayed for another week because repairs to institutions damaged in the war between Hezbollah guerillas and Israeli troops has not yet been completed.
Private schools, which are attended by one million students, "will begin classes on October 9, but public schools will be delayed until October 16," Kabbani said while on a tour of south Lebanon, which was hard-hit by 33 days of bombardment.
The government is working hard to return "all students to their schools by October 16," Kabbani added.
According to Lebanese government estimates, around 50 schools were destroyed and 300 damaged by the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah which ended with a UN-brokered cease-fire on August 14.
The government estimated the reconstruction of the schools to cost 70 million dollars.
Several Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the UN children's agency UNICEF, have been helping rebuild schools and handing out books and school bags to children.
Some public schools, which were not damaged, hosted refugees from various parts of Lebanon during the war and they needed some repairs as well, the minister said.