The World Bank and its partners decided on Thursday to reallocate $ 37 million (about 32 million euros) to aid teachers in Lebanon’s public schools who have been hit hard by the country’s economic crisis.

The World Bank and the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) stated in a joint statement that they were reclaiming cash intended for the Lebanon and Syria Crisis Fund (LSCTF), which assists Lebanese towns in welcoming Syrian refugees.

These monies will be used to “give financial advantages to teachers in public schools who are affected by Lebanon’s terrible financial and economic crisis, in order to secure their capacity to purchase fuel to come to work,” according to the communiqué.

“The exceptional” funding that will cover the 2021-2022 school year has been requested by the Lebanese government, the World Bank said.

Lebanon, home to more than one million Syrian refugees, faces an economic crisis that the World Bank considers one of the worst of modern times.

Over 80% of the population lives below the poverty line and the local currency has lost 90% of its value against the dollar on the black market.

Teachers in public schools, already underpaid before the onset of the crisis two years ago, have since sank deeper into poverty.

Their wages in Lebanese pounds are now only a fraction of what they used to earn, due to the sharp devaluation of the pound.

As a result, most of them cannot afford to buy gasoline to go to work, after the government gradually lifted the subsidies, causing fuel prices to quadruple in the space of a few minutes. month.

Filling the tank of a midsize vehicle now costs more than the monthly minimum wage of 675,000 pounds (around 22 euros).