{"id":32397,"date":"2019-02-09T00:23:18","date_gmt":"2019-02-09T00:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=32397"},"modified":"2019-02-09T00:23:18","modified_gmt":"2019-02-09T00:23:18","slug":"lebanese-father-sets-himself-on-fire-over-unpaid-school-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=32397","title":{"rendered":"Lebanese father sets himself on fire over unpaid school fees"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\nBEIRUT: A Lebanese man set himself on fire in a schoolyard in Bkeftine in northern Lebanon after a dispute over unpaid tuition fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nGeorge Zureik doused himself in gasoline and set himself alight following a meeting on Thursday with administrators at his daughter\u2019s private school. The father of two died before he could be taken to hospital.<\/p>\n

\nZureik is believed to have asked the school for documents to transfer his daughter to a semi-free public institution, but was refused because of outstanding tuition fees.<\/p>\n

\nHe had previously transferred his other daughter from the same school to a public facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nZureik\u2019s death sparked angry responses on social media with many comments critical of high school fees and Lebanon\u2019s worsening economic situation.
\u00a0
MPs from North Lebanon joined the online protests, describing Zureik as \u201ca martyr of taxes and the high cost of living.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nMP Sami Gemayel said Zureik was \u201ca martyr to irresponsibility and lack of accountability,\u201d while MP Michel Moawad said: \u201cHis suicide is an unprecedented Lebanese tragedy that reflects the worsening economic and social conditions in the country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nThe school administration denied responsibility for the incident and said in a statement that \u201cdue to the deceased father\u2019s economic situation, the school had shown sympathy since his two children enrolled in 2014\/2015 and exempted him from paying fees except for transportation, stationary and extracurricular activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nHowever, Lebanon\u2019s Ministry of Education has announced an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nEducation Minister Akram Shahib said that public schools in the country this year have accepted thousands of students who were transferred from private schools because of the tough economic conditions.
\u00a0
The minister said he will ensure Zureik\u2019s children continue their education and will provide them with the necessary scholarships.
\u00a0
\u201cI hope that this painful incident will be an incentive for the government to make improving the difficult economic and living conditions a priority,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nEconomist Louis Hobeika described the incident as \u201ca sad situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe Ministry of Labor has estimated the unemployment rate in Lebanon at 25 percent \u2014 and it might be higher,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe have noticed a fall in the number of parents who can pay university tuition fees, prompting students to work at restaurants and other places. But the problem with schools is that parents are the only ones who can pay for their children\u2019s tuition.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEIRUT: A Lebanese man set himself on fire in a schoolyard in Bkeftine in northern Lebanon after a dispute over unpaid tuition fees.\u00a0 George Zureik doused himself in gasoline and set himself alight following a meeting on Thursday with administrators at his daughter\u2019s private school. The father of two died before he could be taken…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":32398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle_east_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}