Pandemic, blast destruction postpone Lebanon’s return to school

Pandemic, blast destruction postpone Lebanon’s return to school

BEIRUT - Piles of rubble and broken glass lie in the corridors and courtyard of Beirut's College Notre Dame de Nazareth.

The principal's office has been damaged and the doors and windows of the chapel blown off. The statue of the Virgin Mary in the yard has remained intact, however, watching over workmen toiling to fix buildings.

These are the scenes as students wait to start a new academic year.

Sister Magida Fheili, principal of College Notre Dame de Nazareth, shows the damage at the school due to the explosion at the port area, in Beirut, Lebanon September 18, 2020. (Reuters)The huge explosion in Beirut's port on August 4 did not spare the Lebanese capital's schools as it laid waste to swathes of the city.

Rebuilding poses yet another challenge to an education system already