Will the President of the Republic release the student dollar?

Ten days after his arrival at the Republican Palace, the student dollar law will land on President Michel Aoun’s table on Monday. In recent days, the law was transferred to a committee to review it legally and financially, before it was signed by the President of the Republic. While the families of Lebanese students abroad fear the possibility that the law will enter the orbit of patronage and sectarian considerations and return it to parliament, the official of the educational office of the Free Patriotic Movement, Rock Muhanna, ruled out not signing it for Aoun, especially since representatives of the powerful Lebanese bloc examined the provisions of the bill in commissions. The joint parliamentary commission and the small parliamentary commission voted on it in the legislative session. He attributed the delay to the concern of the palace departments over the parliamentary consultations.

The law, according to a member of the Parents Association, Sami Hamia, is the only way that preserves the rights and the future of thousands of students, “and when it was approved in the Chamber of Deputies, we thought we had passed the stage more difficult, and we did not think it would have any obstacles because we consider that the president would be more interested than others in protecting the law. Of any dust. He indicated that the signature of the president will not be the last round of our battle, as there is a second round with the banks to implement the law. The association had requested an appointment with the president of the Banking Association, Salim Sfeir, to explain the basis of the law and its cost, which does not exceed $ 60 million. The association proposes ideas such as the transfer of $ 10 million in foreign aid to Lebanon to support the student dollar and ease the burden on Central Bank assets.

The families of the students fear that the law will enter the orbit of patronage and sectarianism

Hamieh said university administrations are pressuring students to pay enrollment fees after deadlines run out. “The bet is that the president will be the protective shield to safeguard the rights of our children, although we hope that he equates the problem of students with that of those affected by the explosion of the port of Beirut, in terms of issuing an exceptional decree without recourse to a legislative decision, “he added.
The Parents ‘Association will hold a protest in front of the Republican Palace on Monday with the aim of communicating with the president and explaining the suffering of the students’ families.