A satisfactory answer to the needs of the students - no • Corona testing program in the schools - does not exist • Purim celebrations in doubt and it is not clear what will happen with the Passover holiday • • A special project
Unanswered Issues:
The education system is in chaos due to the corona virus.
Parents, teachers and students remain unanswered - both in the short and long term.
Prime Minister Netanyahu at a cabinet meeting: "We are examining our steps according to the balance between vaccines and disease" // Photo: GPO
Some of the problems must be solved immediately to allow a safer opening of the schools, while the other part of the problems, which are already around the corner - no one is addressing or bothering to find a solution.
New Minister of Education
The Knesset elections are just around the corner, and with them the formation of a new government.
This means that Yoav Galant will probably not be the next Minister of Education - both due to the change in the balance of power and because he is known to be staring at a security position.
This means another shake-up in the education system with the entry of a new Minister of Education, and possibly also of the director general of a new Ministry of Education.
The mental injury
After the previous elections and at the height of the crisis, a new minister was appointed, Yoav Galant, who brought with him new work plans and a new concept, and some of the senior officials were also replaced.
The meaning of the entry of a new Minister of Education is contrary to everything that the children of Israel really need - stability.
At the same time, parents, educators and psychologists have been warning for a long time that many of Israel's students, of all ages, are facing the terrible loneliness that the corona has brought with it.
The Psychological-Counseling Service Division of the Ministry of Education also identifies emotional distress, anxiety and difficulties resulting from various family situations during this period.
In the Ministry of Education, although you will increase the staff and train the teachers themselves, the burden on the educational counselors is still great - especially in early childhood and in elementary schools.
Counseling hours have doubled, and it is still difficult to meet the needs of children.
One of the problems of the Ministry of Education is to give emotional responses within groups of students, and not individually one-on-one.
Also, some children may be ashamed to share with their peers what they are going through.
The issue of testing
Beyond that, it took the government a long time to condition the entry into Israel on an up-to-date corona check, and it seems that the same mistake is repeated with the opening of schools.
From the very beginning of the epidemic, experts have recommended that corona tests be performed on students when they arrive at schools, in order to sample the morbidity status in educational institutions.
While this requires technology and resources, it can help keep the education system open.
However, a year after the crisis broke out and on the eve of leaving the third closure of the education system - no such venture has been promoted, a pilot done in several cities has been swallowed up in countless ventures, and meanwhile, the students are paying the prices.
Not every day is Purim
Anyone who has visited a school knows how difficult it is to follow the guidelines, wear a mask throughout the day and keep a distance - so it is important to advance the tests to interrupt the chain of infection.
At the same time, the holiday of Purim, which will be celebrated on February 25, is a critical time for the education system, which will have to decide whether and to what extent students will celebrate in schools.
On the one hand, canceling costume celebrations in schools can be a severe moral blow for many students and parents, who have already lost faith in the education system.
On the other hand, large Purim parties, even if not within schools, can bounce morbidity among students.
In the previous school year, Purim parties in schools, especially in high schools, contributed to infection - even if they were held outside of school hours.
In general, most of the guidelines for educational institutions are that each student eats separately and as far away as possible from the other students, since this is done without a mask.
School days on vacation
The issue of school days during the Passover holiday and the big holiday has not yet been finally closed.
Teachers, for their part, teach from a distance, and every such school day is equivalent to a class day.
Therefore there is no chance that they will agree to teach more days at their expense.
The "Passover School" and "School of the Great Freedom" project have so far provided a solution in the form of "Babysitter".
But this year the educational gaps are huge, every day at school must be utilized for the benefit of studies and the question arises as to whether such a framework will be effective at the educational level.
At the same time, the issue of the budget is expected to arise again, and where will the money for this project come from.
Fourth closure
In conclusion, in many ways it is already possible to talk about the lost year of the education system, especially for 5th-10th graders, who were always the first to enter the closure and the last to leave it.
Even now, on the eve of leaving the third quarantine, these students are still not returning to school, and even if they do, no one can guarantee that the education system will not enter a fourth quarantine.
Although Education Minister Yoav Galant had already stated before the third closure that he would leave the schools open at all costs, under pressure from the Ministry of Health it folded and the schools closed.
Following this, without a real plan, without a split and real capsules - it is doubtful if anyone can guarantee that the schools will not be closed for the fourth time.