Teachers

Daniel gave up a comfortable career in high-tech, Rotem continues the path of her late father, and Paz moved to the Gaza envelope despite her illness. As the school year begins, the new educators explain why they are not willing to give up on the classroom, despite the workload and low pay.

While Education Minister Yoav Kisch promotes AI in schools, research shows that 76% of teachers lack the necessary pedagogical knowledge, and actual classroom integration remains low.

Closing the circle: teachers who return to teach in the place where they were once students. For the student who once sat in the back row by the window, and perhaps sometimes struggled to concentrate, standing in front of the class with a dry-erase marker in hand is a personal victory and a statement of intent.

The average salary for a 100% position reaches about 16.6 thousand shekels, and the median is about 15.1 thousand; for veteran teachers, the salary reaches more than 20 thousand shekels, and in management, it is already approaching 30 thousand. The pay slips of young teachers are indeed lower, but a large part of the gap comes from part-time positions and a salary structure that rewards seniority...

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.

Ohad Elkabets, in charge of teaching staff at the Treasury's Wage Department, will lead the negotiations on the wage agreement with the teachers' unions. In an interview with Globes, he explains why canceling school on Fridays is necessary to reduce the burden on teachers, warns against a wage spiral in the economy, and expresses reservations about transferring employment to local authorities. He...

Ahead of new restrictions on phone use in middle schools, students, parents, and educators agree that screens have become a problem, but believe that a ban alone will not solve it. Dr. Rotem Eliyahu warns: "Other skills will not return on their own."

Teachers' testimonies revealed: violence, threats, curses, and humiliation by students and parents have become a daily routine. The Teachers' Union warns that "there is no safety net for those who have suffered violence," while no body in the country checks how many teachers have been attacked - and the Ministry of Education claims: "Teaching staff receive a safety net."

CBS data indicates an increase in the number of math and science teachers since 2011, but also reveals gaps in professional qualifications and significant attrition rates among new teachers. In some cases, teachers continue to teach these core subjects for three years or more despite lacking the proper qualifications.

CBS data reveals that only about half of science and mathematics teachers in elementary schools are qualified to teach their subjects. Many continue to teach without proper credentials for years. With international performance at a low, nearly a quarter of new science teachers leave the profession within five years.

The global ranking is based on a new study by the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research, which compared teachers in Israel to their counterparts in OECD countries. The study's authors claim that the knowledge level of Israeli teachers in core subjects is among the lowest in the developed world. Among the countries tested, only Italy, Latvia, and Poland are ranked below Israel.

While state schools are desperate for manpower and opening their gates to diversity, religious schools are closing their doors to secular teachers. The system is calling for orientation and training, but educators are demanding to overcome the crisis: "It is time to dismantle the tribal walls."

Minister of Education Yoav Kisch initiated an expert committee to address the teacher shortage, but a year after the report was submitted, its recommendations remain unimplemented. The report proposed national licensing exams, reduced classroom hours, and a consolidation of teaching colleges.

The teacher shortage is severe and is harming students. Principals unable to find qualified staff are placing teaching students, teacher's aides, and even discharged soldiers in classrooms. Sometimes, one teacher is forced to serve as a homeroom teacher for two classes. Messages in closed forums reveal the depth of a crisis that the Ministry of Education is attempting to hide.

The sense of mission has been replaced by frustration: about half of teaching students do not intend to enter classrooms, and the number of graduates has reached a decade low. Data from the CBS and the Knesset reveal that one in five new teachers leaves within five years. Three teachers who decided to quit share their stories of shattered dreams: "The system does not allow for true education."

Yaffa Ben-David warned on 103fm radio that the education system is currently short of nearly 5,000 teaching staff, and argued that without addressing the root of the problem, the situation will worsen: "Salary is important, but it alone will not solve the shortage."

Those who do come to teach find themselves with very little room for educational action and feel like pieces on a chessboard that the Ministry of Education moves to convey messages and achieve results.

About 600 educational aides from approximately 50 municipalities are expected to join the "Ofek BeTnuah" ("Horizon in Motion") program in the 2026/27 school year. The initiative will allow them to earn a bachelor's degree in early childhood education, receive a teaching certificate, and obtain an annual scholarship of 6,000 shekels to help address the national teacher shortage.

Only 3% of teachers believe children are properly prepared for school, while 48% estimate they arrive insufficiently or not at all prepared. And what is the price parents pay for private lessons? Back to school project.

A program promoted by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education, offering improved salary conditions to new recruits, has sparked anger among veteran teachers. Educators are protesting the state's willingness to pay significantly more to outside hires while neglecting those who have been in the system for years.

Decent wages for educators are a basic condition, but they are not enough. It is necessary to rebuild the status of the teaching profession, create a professional horizon and opportunities for development, and restore trust and authority to educational teams.

Low attractiveness of the profession, disappointing personal level of applicants, high dropout rates, fear of the system and parents, insufficient salary, and lack of support — three college of education presidents outline the situation and offer solutions.

The Ministry of Education is offering a temporary employment track — up to 5 years — in an attempt to address the teacher shortage: about 8,000 teaching staff will be recruited on personal contracts, with salaries based on their experience and professional background, even outside the field of education. Teachers who complete one school year will also be able to receive a retention bonus of up to...

The Ministry of Education has begun enforcing the law prohibiting the employment of teaching staff with academic degrees from Palestinian Authority institutions. The directive, issued to district managers, follows legislation passed in January by Knesset members Amit Halevi and Avichai Boaron. Exceptions are provided for candidates who hold additional recognized Israeli credentials.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 42% of teaching graduates from the state-religious sector in 2025 were absorbed into secular schools. This trend has become a primary method for addressing the teacher shortage.

The reform proposed by the Ministry of Finance to transfer powers to local authorities is not just an "interesting management idea" – it is an existential and necessary step to save the teaching profession in Israel.

Teacher burnout, crowded classrooms, lack of training, suppression of critical thinking, and budgetary discrimination: educators point to the deep crisis in the system and propose a series of measures designed to stop the exodus and improve the quality of teaching.

For the first time, rules regulating the relationship between parents and teaching staff will be anchored in a director-general circular. Kindergarten teachers will be able to choose how and when parents contact them, and schools will publish a code of conduct determining through which platforms and hours parents can ask questions, consult, or complain. Education Minister Kisch: "We are...

The severe shortage of teaching staff ahead of the start of the school year has given birth to a joint initiative to encourage Aliyah from North America, with the goal of integrating Olim into the education system. The program will provide a comprehensive support package and degree recognition before they arrive in the country. However, due to the complexity of the bureaucratic process and...

Many teachers are moving their arena of activity to social networks and garnering millions of views. Despite the dizzying success of 60-second videos in math and English, "TikTok teachers" and senior Ministry of Education officials agree unanimously: it is an excellent auxiliary tool for making material accessible and reducing anxiety. Nevertheless, it cannot replace in-depth learning in the...

The school year begins in September, but Knesset elections follow in October. The incoming Minister of Education will face long-neglected issues, ranging from a severe staffing crisis to deep sectoral inequalities.

Knesset member Amit Halevi (Likud) revealed in a podcast interview that a security check identified dozens of teachers linked to terrorism in Shin Bet databases. According to Halevi, the information was destroyed under orders from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.