The Lebanese University (Arabic: الجامعة اللبنانية‎, French: Université Libanaise) is the only public institution for higher learning in Lebanon. Founded in 1951, it has 17 faculties as of 2006 and serves various cultural, religious, and social groups of students and teachers. The independent university enjoys administrative, academic, and financial freedom. Among its educational goals are creating a unique mix of cultures and providing the basic and necessary education to allow students to enter various professions. The Lebanese University was established in 1951 to serve the diverse social groups that make up Lebanese society, and to provide a high-level institution in which students can acquire university degrees. It was launched amid a growth in the number of students in grades 10-12. The first departments were The High House of Teachers and The Statistics Center. On December 3, 1951, the first class of 68 students entered the university. On February 26, 1953, official decree No. 25 founded a center for financial and administrative at the university, called The Institution of Finance and Administration.