Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
The official entry age to pre-primary education is 3 years old. In 2024, the net enrolment rate for pre-primary education (both sexes) was 70%.
Governance
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) is responsible for all education levels, including pre-primary education for children aged 3-6. The overall education budget finances general education (including pre-primary and primary). There are 3 years of kindergarten: KG1, KG2 and KG3, with the latter being the year immediately preceding Grade 1 entry. Kindergarten is not mandatory, but it is included as part of free basic education.
Pre-primary education is financed by the Ministry, civil society organisations and the private sector. The government has traditionally relied on support from international funders and civil society organisations for the provision and financing of pre-primary education. Ministry efforts were mainly supported by the World Bank, with funding from UNICEF towards supporting non-Lebanese students, including a condensed, one-year pre-primary education offer at KG 3-level.
Paid private pre-primary schools (financed by households through tuition fees) consistently account for over 60% of the 3-6 age group. In Lebanon’s 2021-25 General Education Plan, objectives to improve laws and increase access to early childhood education amount to only 0.5% of the government’s total budget.
Tuition-free status
The number of years of free pre-primary education granted in legal frameworks is 3 years.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Education funding is fully centralised under the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), with budget approval from the Ministry of Finance. MEHE retains full control over resource allocation without transferring budgets or financial authority to subnational governments. Regional education directorates function solely as administrative units and do not receive or manage funds independently.
2. Education resources to institutions
RACE I AND II: Subsidies for formal, preparatory and community-based pre-primary education
The government’s guiding policy frameworks, Reaching all Children with Education (RACE) I (2014-17) and II (2017-21) have represented a significant share of education sector financing. While the government has contributed to the overall cost, the majority of funding for RACE objectives was provided by international donors.
One of the objectives of RACE II was to partially or fully subsidise financial barriers (registration fees and education-related costs) for children who enrol in the formal education stream (including pre-primary schools) and regulated non-formal education programmes (including preparatory early childhood education for children aged 5-6 and community-based early childhood education for children aged 3-5). Community-based early childhood education mainly targets vulnerable Syrian and Lebanese children in underserved areas, while the two-shift schooling and waiving of registration fees allowed Syrian refugee children to enrol in public pre-primary schools and non-formal education opportunities. Education-related costs for children accessing formal or non-formal opportunities were partially or fully subsidised on commonly agreed vulnerability criteria. While textbooks and stationery were aimed to be provided to all enrolled students, transportation subsidies and special-needs equipment were reviewed on a case/vulnerability basis. The Ministry, with the support of UN agencies and international donors, aimed to cover the costs of school registration, parents’ fund fees, and the cost of schoolbooks and stationery for all students in public pre-primary schools.
Subsidised private pre-primary schools
While most pre-primary schools rely on tuition fees for their funding (non-free private pre-primary schools), the government provides subsidies to a smaller category of pre-primary schools known as ‘free-private’ or ‘semi-private’ schools, which are often run by religious groups or NGOs and receive government support to offer education at reduced costs.
3. Education resources to students and families
There is no government subsidy programme targeted towards children and families under the age of 6 with a direct pre-primary education condition.
RACE II (2017-21) had proposed a pilot cash transfer programme as additional support to poorer families to access education. In 2016/17, UNICEF in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), started to pilot a child-focused cash transfer program for displaced Syrian children in Lebanon, known as the No Lost Generation or ‘Min Ila’ with the aim to reduce barriers to children’s school attendance. Syrian refugee children aged 5–14 in the Mount Lebanon and Akkar governorates who were enrolled in a second-shift school received a basic monthly education transfer to cover a portion of the indirect costs of going to school, such as school snacks, transportation, and appropriate clothing and shoes. While no conditions had to be met to receive the cash, school attendance was monitored and households received visits if children did not attend school regularly, the objective of which was to refer households to additional services.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
There is no universal child grant funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs with a pre-primary education condition. The 2023 National Social Protection Strategy aims for all basic education students (including pre-primary students and the non-formal sector) to have access to education, with particular attention to marginalised groups. However, older age groups (fee waivers at the secondary and TVET level) are prioritised, with no specific government-supported mechanism towards pre-primary-aged children.
Cash transfers for vulnerable children have mainly been funded by international donors, including the European Union, UNHCR, and WFP.
