I posted almost a week ago on how Lebanon was ranked in the top 5 countries of the World for Maths and Science education and in the top 10 for Quality of the Educational System according to the World Economic Forum’s 2013 Global Information Technology Report.

For some reason, this piece of news got everyone’s attention and spread online like crazy. I have to admit I didn’t think it was that appealing as we ranked relatively bad in almost every other category so I didn’t bother go through the 300+ pages report and the methodology behind it to understand how those rankings were drawn out (even though one of the comments on the original post suggested something was wrong with the rankings).

Mouhammed Soueidane says:
I’m sorry to break it down to you, but make sure to check this link:

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GITR_Report_2013.pdf

Go to page 325(349 in the PDF file). The above graph was made based on a question that was asked to the Lebanese people. The question is:
How would you assess the quality of math and science education in your country’s schools?

The above results are merely what the Lebanese people think about concerning the “Quality of math and science education” in their schools.

Fortunately though, The Beirut Spring shared today a post by Mohammad Alloush, a guest economist, who examined the report thoroughly and provided a proper explanation to the rankings proposed as well as the Real Position of Lebanon’s Education System. Check it out [Here].

The Real Position of Lebanon’s Education System

When it comes to secondary enrollment rates and primary completion we come at a whopping 87th place. Over 10% of children drop out of primary school, and this number is much higher in poor public schools. In adult literacy, we rank 88th. In tertiary enrollment rates, we rank 40th without saying much about the quality. In a UNESCO education index that takes many different aspects of the system into account, in 2010, our ranking was 70. We were 97th in 2007.

In an international quality of education test (TIMSS 2011), students in Lebanon got an average score of 449 on math which is 51 points below average. In terms of ranking, we came in 25th place out of 43 participating countries. Better still, in terms of achieving certain benchmarks, only 1% of Lebanese students achieved the advanced benchmark (3% is the world median), 9%, 38%, & 73% achieved the high, intermediate, and low benchmarks respectively. The world medians are 17%, 46%, and 75%. In terms of quality, we are clearly below average.

I don’t mean to berate nameless people on this. But if we don’t realize that something is wrong, then we have no incentive to fix it. [BeirutSpring]

I just got a confirmation from Minister Sehnaoui that the upgrade will take place on May 7th.

What I am unsure of though is what will happen if a user had already exceeded his limit before the upgrade takes place. For example if you have 500 MB and you already consumed 600MB, will the extra MBs be accounted for or will the limits be refreshed automatically?

[YouTube]

I thought the controversy that followed Basmet Watan’s episode on Patriarch Sfeir had died out but it seems Comedian Charbel Khalil has gone as far as attacking a religious official and calling him names as well as going after MTV.

Few things I want to say here:
- I support everyone’s freedom of opinion and I believe we should be allowed to criticize or caricaturize or mock anyone we want regardless of their social/religious/political rank. Having said that, the few respectable Lebanese TVs we have should promote such freedoms out of principle regardless if they agree with the comedian or not.

- Charbel Khalil is a known comedian in Lebanon but I honestly rarely found his shows funny. Added to that, he lost all credibility in my regards when he apologized after the famous Hassan Nasrallah episode. This being said, MTV should have focused on that part only without defending Patriarch Sfeir and interviewing people that are only interested in cursing Khalil. After all, Patriarch Sfeir doesn’t need anyone to defend him.

- The best way to deal with Khalil’s foul language and accusations against MTV and the priest is by filing a lawsuit. Just to be clear, this does not contradict with my first statement as spreading false allegations is not part of the freedom of opinion I preach or believe in.

On a last note, I think this is yet another proof that we need better comedy shows and comedians in Lebanon.

[YouTube]

Picture taken from CNN Photos

Check out the rest of these photos that got featured on the CNN Website [Here].

Photojournalist Natalie Naccache grew up with Lebanese parents in London and visited the small country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea every year since she was born. On her visits, Naccache, who is now based in the capital city, Beirut, noticed most families had a maid who assumed many household roles: cook, housekeeper, mother, nurse.

“These maids were basically living their lives for their employers. They were dedicated to their employers, and I found that very uncomfortable,” Naccache says.

She says the maid culture is embedded in the Lebanese way of life, which is why she chose to capture it in her photo essay “No Madam.”

Naccache asserts while many maids are treated well, others aren’t as lucky – subjected to verbal and physical abuse, racism, even rape, by recruitment agencies and employers. According to recent statistics, there are more than 200,000 migrant domestic workers in the country of roughly 4 million. [Full Story]

Haifa Wehbe showed up to pick up her award for Most Engaging Celebrity on Twitter

This list is not official so please feel free to correct me if I got any name wrong.

Blog of the year : BlogBaladi
Best News Blog : Beirut Spring
Best Business Blog : Wamda
Best Lifestyle Blog : Mich Café
Best Food Blog : No Garlic No Onions
Best Fashion Blog : PlushBeirut
Best Technology Blog : Microsoftoholic
Best Personal Blog : Gino’s Blog
Best Media Personality on Social Media : Zaven
Best Non-Arabic Vocal Artist on Social Media : Anthony Touma
Best Band on Social Media : Mashrou3 Leila
Most Creative Instagram Account : LiveLoveBeirut
Best Facebook Campaign/Page : Lebanese Memes
Best Integrated Campaign : Cheyef 7alak
Most Engaging Youtube Channel : Cheyef 7alak
Most Engaging Youtube Video : Beirut Duty Free Flash Mob
Most Engaging Person on Twitter : Anis Tabet
Most Engaging Celebrity on Twitter : Haifa Wehbe
Most Engaging Media Personality on Twitter : Neshan
Most Engaging Politician/Diplomat on Twitter : Ziad Baroud
Best Business on Twitter : Roadster Diner
Best NGO/Organization on Twitter : Donner Sang Compter
Best Pub/Bar on Social Media : Feb30
Best Restaurant : Roadster Diner
Best Hotel on Social Media : Phoenicia
Best Fashion Brand on Social Media : Vero Moda ME
Best Food & Beverage Brand on Social Media : Almaza
Best Commercial District on Social Media : ABC
Best NGO/Community on Social Media : Lebanese Memes
Best Start-up on Social Media : Tickle My Brain
Best Design for a Social Media Campaign : Almaza
Best Facebook Application : Novo

L’Armoire De Lana was also awarded the best “SMA Social Campaigning Magnet” Award.

Many thanks to those who voted for us and the judges for their trust in this blog!

Picture taken from Tech-Ticker.com via FrootApps

There are 22 million smartphones in the MENA region, 12 million in the Gulf alone. Android has the biggest market share with 40%, followed by iOS with 35%, then Blackberry and Windows way behind.

Check out more information [Here].

After spotting the McLaren MP4 in Beirut, I spotted the next day a Ferrari FF at ABC Dbayyeh.

I was always reluctant to buy a Ferrari because it only fits two (Ma hek?) but the FF is the ideal family car for me (after winning a couple of lotteries).

The seal that LBCI talked about four days ago turned out to be a sea lion and has come back today to the port in Tyre. According to Animals Lebanon, the sea lion is a captive raised California sea lion, not native to this region and not used to surviving in the wild, and releasing the animal in the wild is against the recommendations of the IUCN. They added that the person responsible at the Ministry of Environment said a decision will be made this week of the fate of the sea lion.

Let’s hope the concerned Ministry takes the right decision to send this young sea lion to a proper place to be given the specialized care needed.

You can read more updates [Here].

Teta, Alf Marra (Grandma, A Thousand Times) by Mahmoud Kaabour – Trailer

[YouTube]

In case you are wondering how Israel shoots down these unmanned aircrafts, check out the video above. Funnily enough, no one knows who sent the last drone.

It could be that the Lebanese Rocket Society movie inspired some young engineers lol!

Believe it, if you don’t come and see it.

[YouTube]

It looks like every time a Nasrallah is caricaturized on Basmet Watan, some Lebanese get upset. Last time it was Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and now it’s the previous Maronite Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir.

Funnily enough, I didn’t see anyone blocking roads when a Saudi paper mocked the current Patriarch.

One thing I have to tell those blocking roads and causing traffic over a pointless matter: Stop this nonsense and focus on more important matters, or as the Lebanese proverb says “3melo chi byenfa3″.

Lebanese-American Adrian Aoun, the founder of Wavii – Picture taken from wired

Google acquires a lot of start-ups every year but this acquisition is worth a mention as its founder is a Lebanese-American called Adrian Aoun. You can read more about Wavii on [Mashable] and [TechCrunch].

Famously, Google says it’s on mission to organize the world’s information. And Wavii says it’s on a mission to understand the world’s information. So there’s a certain harmony behind the reports that Google has paid $30 million to acquire the Seattle startup.

Wavii offers a service that lets people to “follow” a subject — such as biotechnology, the Middle East or stamp collecting — in much the same way you would follow a person on Twitter or Facebook. But when the company launched in 2012, founder Adrian Aoun had a grander version, saying he planned to expand the technology at the heart of the company’s service and provide a way for machines to better understand the massive amounts of information posted to the internet with each passing minute. [Link]