The Ministry of Education is considering signing a commitment by parents to send their children to heat-free schooling • And also: examining the conversion of sports halls into classrooms to prevent infection

First publication: At the Ministry of Education, parents are considering signing a statement that they sent their children to school when they are healthy. The education system should be back to normal gradually and in small classrooms to prevent contagion in Corona. The Ministry of Education is disturbed by the arrival of sick students to schools, and "Israel Today" has learned that one of the options that came up is the signing of the form in question, which parents will need to fill out and declare that the student or student did not have a fever in the days before their arrival at school and that they are healthy.

Photo: Ami Shamir

"We are looking at all kinds of models," said an education ministry official, but admitted that solutions to these problems have not yet been found.

The Ministry of Education realizes that thermometers cannot be purchased for all schools across the country, as there is a large market shortage. Therefore, an office is exploring an alternative signature to the statement of the parents who measured a brown child themselves. A final decision on the matter has not been made and the issue is in consultation with the Ministry of Health.

In addition, the Ministry of Education is currently distributing masks to thousands of teachers who will be required to return to school. According to the new guidelines, every departure from the home requires the wearing of a mask on the nose and mouth area. With the return to a limited curriculum, tens of thousands of teachers are expected to come to the schools wearing a mask and the question arises who will provide them with the masks. The teachers' union has already announced that "it will not compromise the safety and health of teaching staff."

In the meantime, is the possibility of transferring the learning from the classrooms to the sports halls, libraries and yards? The Ministry of Education is exploring different ways to facilitate the return to school, while adhering to the restrictions of the Public Health Order to prevent the spread of corona.

Even if schools open, classrooms with a small number of students will be needed, so it is necessary to divide them and separate them into separate spaces to prevent the infection. According to the plan, learning will be rotated and will be used not only in classrooms but also in the school yard, libraries and even sports halls that will be converted into classrooms.

"We are working with the Ministry of Health and all other relevant bodies to ensure that the operating model we have formulated is in line with both health constraints and national needs," Ministry of Education CEO Shmuel Abouab wrote to members of the ministry's management. A long time and will be complementary to physical learning, combined with a hybrid between small group learning and distance learning. "

More on:

• Controversy between government ministries over the abolition of great freedom

• The education system is preparing to return to normal

• Students at the Ministry of Education: "Do not maintain maturity during the Corona crisis"

• The Corona crisis as an opportunity in education

As published in Israel Today, the Ministry of Education prepares a number of scenarios for returning students to study, including intermittent or intermittent learning: morning or noon, or alternate learning days (Sunday, Thursday, or Wednesday and Friday). ). In this situation, each student will attend school three times a week, for about four hours per day.

However, there are those who cool the enthusiasm. "My assessment is that the education system will not open in the coming week and when it returns to action, and it will take some time, it will not run as we knew it except in all kinds of special arrangements that are currently being thought of," said the head of the National Economic Council, Prof. Avi Simhon. "Anyone who thinks we will return to schools and kindergartens this Sunday is too optimistic. It will not happen, but at a later stage in a significant way."

Prof. Simhon added: "I do not know if this will happen in two weeks or another month, my assessment is that we will start returning to schools only in early May - and this will only be in a special format and not the regular studies we were used to. The problem is that schools are a place to be used And I don't know a single developed country, except Taiwan, where the education system is open. "