Many parents complain, and rightly so, that the children's holidays in the education system are not adapted to their schedules and working hours. The "School of Holidays" program, in which preschoolers and children in grades one to three received five days of Chanukah schooling, provided an optimal solution for parents, who could continue to work without thinking of "arranging for children."

Recently, we were told that the Education Ministry would stop subsidizing this so vital program, due to "budget constraints." A shortfall of NIS 400 million for special needs education has forced the ministry to redirect a budget originally intended to help local authorities subsidize the school of holidays.

Investing in special education is necessary and welcome, but it is worth asking - how did we come to a situation where it is necessary to choose between it and an educational venture that provides an ideal solution for many parents and children? The Ministry of Education budget is NIS 59.6 billion - the highest of all government ministries' budgets, including the Ministry of Defense. Could not one-tenth of a percent of it be found in other sources? Even if it is not possible to locate the money within the education budget (a claim as mentioned above), it exists in countless other sources. Just over a week ago, the MKs voted for an additional NIS 62 million for the election funding budget. At the same time, the salary of elected officials will rise by an estimated 3 to 3.5 percent in the January 2020 salary.

Something defective in the national priorities. Beyond the inherent harm to parents and their children, the cessation of "school holidays" will intensify the gap between those who have and those who do not. Strong authorities, most of them in the center of the country, will be able to fund the program, while poor authorities in the periphery will have to give it up or raise money from the children's parents. These are hundreds of shekels per child - a significant expense, especially for multi-child families who have to say goodbye to thousands of shekels.

The local authorities are not responsible for the situation we are facing. The problem starts from the top - the Treasury and the government's distorted priorities. As long as our leaders do not internalize that investment in education, including informal education, must be at the forefront of our society - pedagogical initiatives of the highest importance, such as the "school of the holidays," will be news to the mornings, the gaps between rich and poor will widen, and we will continue to see student achievement decline. PISA (as we saw in the dismal results released earlier this month).

In order for the change to materialize, long-term planning must be made and a deputy education minister appointed to devote his time to informal education (the educational settings outside the school's formal hours). Unfortunately, this is a difficult target to implement when going to elections every five months.

The writer is the chairman of the National Association of Youth Division Directors in the local authorities