Financial Deficit in Lebanese Catholic Schools

Abstract

Several Catholic schools have been shut down for good and several others are struggling to survive but they might just not, because they are facing a severe financial deficit and a strong decline in their revenues. This financial crisis facing Catholic schools in Lebanon is considered in this chapter in light of declining purchasing power of the Lebanese families over the last decade and the lack of parental confidence in Catholic school's primary mission. The first approach is quantitative: a questionnaire among school administrators and families to understand the tuition and purchasing power variation in the last decade. The second one is qualitative: four focus groups formed of several Lebanese families to try to assess their trust (or lack of trust) in Catholic schools. This new way to understand the reality of the declining profit of Catholic schools will benefit Catholic schools in general in Lebanon. It may enlighten the importance of their primary mission toward Lebanon.