Academic system adopts new learning model to deal with the spread of the virus in the country • Student Union Chair: "Making decisions, but we will not allow cancellation of the semester"

The universities are closing down, they will move to distance learning: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced yesterday that the universities will also be closed. The institutions of higher education announced yesterday that there will be no studies and in some institutions there will not be any tests for second-degree students taking place these days.

Netanyahu: "We close schools, except kindergartens and special education" // Photo: Ami Shamir

Some 300,000 students study in higher education institutions, in about 60 institutions. At the University of Haifa - where approximately 17,600 students are enrolled, they announced that no studies or exams will be held. Next week’s announcement will be forwarded to students and faculty. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where 24,000 students are studying, postponed the opening of the semester which was scheduled to begin this Sunday. Instead, classes will begin on Sunday, March 22 and even then, the courses will be conducted through distance education.

Also at Bar-Ilan University, where 17,000 students are enrolled, all front-end courses will be taught online, and tests will not be held at this time. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev only goes online to study. This means that all lectures will be held in the classroom only by remote instruction until a new message.

Shlomi Yahav, Chairman of the National Student and Student Union: "The National Student and Student Association backs the decisions of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health. At the same time, these questions cannot be canceled for the semester, so we work with the nonprofit and academic institutions to set up national guidelines that protect student rights and push for a full transition to online learning. The virus and help the populations who need it. "