Bluff in schools: Corona financiers are almost unavailable Israel today

As part of the education system's response to the Corona epidemic, the state has invested tens of millions of shekels in creating a new position: Corona's superintendent or trustee in elementary schools and kindergartens, who is responsible for enforcing Corona guidelines at the educational institution and providing regular updates.

But testimonies from parents, as well as a string of complaints to the Ministry of Education, show that the situation on the ground is far from satisfactory;

In truth, it seems that the only thing that can be agreed on in the matter of the superiors is that there is a huge gap between the degree of their efficiency and the level of their salaries - thousands of shekels more per month.

At present, there are about 3,000 Corona workers in the education system.

Every elementary school is supposed to have such a trustee, and in addition, every authority has a corona trustee for my kindergarten.

These are usually external officials to the schools, who are supposed to make sure that the corona guidelines are enforced in the educational institutions, lead a healthy "lifestyle", carry out sampling operations, provide regular updates and more.

Their employment was initially approved for three months, at a cost of NIS 90 million, and recently the government extended their employment until the end of March next year.

But testimonies received by "Israel Today" show that the Corona financiers, who were appointed to help defend the educational institutions against the plague, do not live up to expectations.

The most significant trouble stems from the way they are chosen: usually, it is the school principals who choose them, and sometimes they even hold a position in the school itself.

This raises two problems: first, the superiors are not one hundred percent vacant;

And the second, no less serious - they have no "teeth" in front of the director of the institution, the teachers, the students and the parents.

"The Corona Loyalist at our school is a teaching supporter who works at the school, so most of the time she teaches or is in classes," says Orit (pseudonym), a teacher at an elementary school in Gush Dan.

Gatekeepers in schools do not perform their duties, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon (Those photographed have no connection to the article)

"She has no real ability to dedicate herself to the job, to supervise or to be available. The superiors receive thousands of shekels more every month, but give a quarter of a job. It is absurd, because there is a lot to do: there is a great loosening of guidelines To the parents regarding the exposures to the patients and the contacts with them - and in the end it falls on us, the teachers. "

According to Orit, the familiarity of the corona financiers with the school principals and with the educational staff does not contribute, to say the least, to their ability to perform their role properly.

"It's an 'neighborhood' atmosphere," she adds.

"Suppose you see a lot of violations of the guidelines - to whom will the trustee complain? After all, the school is the one that employs her and pays her salary, so the result is that one covers for the other."

A mother of a student in the central area, in an educational institution where the outbreak of the plague occurred, tells of similar feelings.

"The corona trustee's voice was not heard," she says.

"It is not clear who should be the gatekeeper at the school, or mediate for the parents the outbreak of the disease. Not updating the parents enough, presenting half a picture. It is intended to save lives, not to sew roles. "

The question of supervision in high schools

In middle and high schools, by the way, Corona trustees were not included.

This step stems both from the desire to reduce costs, and from the fact that in divisions and high schools the proportion of vaccinated or recovering students is higher.

However, in view of the emergence of the new omicron strain, which is considered more contagious than usual even among the vaccinated, the question arises as to whether supervision should be increased.

One of the most outrageous examples of the problem is a stand-up show held for hundreds of Metro-West high school students in Raanana - in a closed hall without masks, contrary to the instructions.

The Ministry of Education promised to take strict care of the rules of defense against the epidemic, including wearing a mask in enclosed spaces and social distance, but in the case in question the opposite happened.

While the Ministry of Education stated that they take the incident very seriously, and that the school supervisor will hold a comprehensive inquiry with the principal, the Raanana municipality insisted that the performance took place in an open space, and only stated: "We will pay extra attention later".

The Ministry of Education clarified in response that "the corona commissioner is obliged to enforce the health guidelines without any bias. As long as there are cases of violation of the guidelines, the ministry will be happy to receive the details to treat them accordingly."

Were we wrong?

Fixed!

If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us