Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat

Lebanese Education Minister Akram Chehayeb has ordered an investigation after reports that a man set himself ablaze following the rejection of his daughter’s school to give him a certificate that would enable him to transfer the girl to a more affordable public school.

George Zreik died at the hospital on Friday after he poured gasoline over his body and self-immolated in the private school’s courtyard in the small town of Bkeftin in Koura, northern Lebanon.

Chehayeb told Asharq Al-Awsat, however, that the man’s self-immolation is not directly caused by the alleged rejection to hand him over the school certificate following his failure to pay the school tuition.

The issue requires further investigation, he said, adding that the ministry would cover the tuition payments of Zreik’s two children.

Chehayeb earlier said in a statement issued by his press office that the ministry has always assisted those seeking to transfer their children from a private school to a public institution by securing the necessary paperwork.

The school’s statement denied claims that it had threatened to expel Zreik’s daughter if he didn’t pay.

It also said that it had exempted Zreik from paying the school tuition since the 2014-2015 academic year except for transportation and other smaller fees.