A day before the start of the school year - chaos in the education system: "Children do not know who their homeroom teacher will be"
Ahead of the start of the 5787 school year, a senior ministry official claims that the data to be presented does not reflect reality. "The minister and the director general are lying through their teeth," the official said. Within the system, reports are coming in of classrooms without homeroom teachers and of ongoing recruitment of teachers for many subjects.
News in brief: A senior official in the Ministry of Education claims that the data on shortages to be presented today is incorrect. According to the official, the minister and the director general will claim that only hundreds of teachers are missing from the system.
"As far as they are concerned, a cat could come to teach, as long as they say they have reduced the shortage," the official stated.
Students and parents report that many classrooms have still not been assigned a homeroom teacher. The 5787 school year will begin tomorrow across the country, but the education system is reporting a severe shortage of teaching staff. Today, Monday, senior ministry officials are expected to present data showing that the system has overcome the shortage and the year will begin as planned, but sources on the ground and within the ministry claim that reality is far from the picture that will be presented to the public.
A senior official in the Ministry of Education said that the data to be presented does not reflect the situation:
"The minister and the director general will claim that only hundreds of teachers are missing. They are lying through their teeth. As far as they are concerned, a cat could come to teach in the classroom, as long as they say they have reduced the teacher shortage."
According to the official, the ministry chose to change the professional terminology to improve public sentiment: "They decided not to say 'teacher shortages' but 'teacher needs'. That is to say, how many teachers the system needs, because it sounds better. The field is screaming, everything is a catastrophe, and they are doing everything to paint a rosy picture."
The felt shortage leads to situations where one homeroom teacher is forced to lead two classes in parallel, even in the youngest age groups such as first grade. Parents, teachers, and principals report that teacher recruitment is continuing for a wide variety of subjects, and in many classrooms, it is still unknown who the homeroom figure will be to start the year.
Education survey by 'Ulpan Shishi': A poor grade for the system
Ahead of the return to school, we published in 'Ulpan Shishi' a survey of public opinion regarding the education system. 68% of respondents gave the system a poor grade, compared to only 25% who gave it a good grade. Among voters of the Benjamin Netanyahu bloc, 47% give a poor grade to the system's performance, compared to 43% who gave it a good grade.
Opposition to the continuation of Minister Kisch's tenure
The survey also examined the status of the incumbent Minister of Education, Yoav Kisch. 63% of respondents believe that Kisch should not serve as Minister of Education in the next government, compared to only 12% who are interested in his continued tenure. A notable figure shows that even within the Benjamin Netanyahu bloc there is opposition to the minister, as 40% of the bloc's voters do not want to see him in the position again, compared to 24% who do.
