Public schools are latest victim of Libyan infighting

Amid the lack of school buildings, the shortage of textbooks and the fighting, thousands of Libyan children will not be able to attend classes this year.
Displaced children walk in a hallway at a school where their family has been taking refuge since clashes started between members of the Libyan pro-government forces, backed by the locals, and Shura Council of Libyan Revolutionaries, an alliance of former anti-Gaddafi rebels who have joined Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia, in Benghazi, Libya April 30, 2015. After a year of war, Libya's second-largest city Benghazi is divided into areas controlled by forces loyal to one of two rival Libyan governments, and are
Displaced children walk in a hallway at a school where their family has been taking refuge since clashes started between members of the Libyan pro-government forces, backed by the locals, and the Shura Council of Libyan Revolutionaries, in Benghazi, Libya, April 30, 2015 - REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
MustafaFetouri.jpg
Mustafa Fetouri
@MFetouri

The school year in Libya usually starts the first week of September. Education in Libya is free of charge, and parents are legally required to keep their kids in school at least until they finish ninth grade. The school starting date is sometimes changed if it coincides with public holidays, such as religious or other national commemorations, but even then the delay is usually only for a couple of days.

This year, the start date for schools has been delayed three times for different reasons. The latest announcement from the Ministry of Education said that schools will open Oct. 24.

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