A Facebook post published on December 7, 2023, at 7:42 PM Libya time, claimed that the Ministry of Education had declared a two-day holiday on Sunday and Monday. The post garnered around 8.7 thousand interactions and 1.2 thousand comments by December 7, 2023. The claim was also found on several other Facebook pages.
An investigation by Annir found that the claim was misleading. According to the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Education in Libya, a statement was published on December 7, 2023, stating that the Minister of Education, Musa Al-Maqrif, had granted educational supervisors in municipalities the discretionary power to suspend classes due to expected weather fluctuations.
The expected weather fluctuations, which included heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding, were predicted to occur on Sunday. As a result, educational supervisors in each municipality were given the authority to decide whether to suspend classes. Annir advised its followers to monitor decisions from educational supervisors, schools, and universities in their respective municipalities.
On December 9, 2023, the Libyan government's official platform, Hokumatna, published an update stating that Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeiba had issued a decision to grant a public holiday on Sunday to all public institutions and facilities, except for those involved in rapid response efforts.
The National Center for Meteorological Information had published a weather alert on its official Facebook page on December 8, 2023, warning of expected heavy rainfall in the northeastern and northwestern regions of Libya from Saturday, December 9, 2023, to Monday morning. The alert also mentioned the possibility of thunderstorms.
A space science institution, Ra'yah, published an image highlighting the expected concentration of rainfall in the northwestern region of Libya on Saturday. Based on this information, Annir classified the initial claim as misleading, as it promoted a "discretionary" holiday determined by educational supervisors in municipalities, rather than a mandatory two-day holiday for all municipalities in Libya.
The decision to declare a public holiday on Sunday was made by the Prime Minister, and not by the Ministry of Education, as initially claimed. Annir's investigation aimed to provide accurate information and clarify the situation for its followers.
Key points
- A social media claim about a two-day holiday in Libya was deemed misleading.
- The Ministry of Education granted educational supervisors discretionary power to suspend classes due to expected weather fluctuations.
- A public holiday was declared on Sunday by the Prime Minister for all public institutions and facilities, except for those involved in rapid response efforts.
