The Ministry of Education has been suffering from technological backwardness for years.
It is a large system, saturated with information systems, CEO circulars, forms and procedures, and also many entities that sometimes have duplications between them.
All of these cause a great deal of awkwardness which affects the work of the teachers, and many of them lament the bureaucracy that hurts their salaries and causes them frustration from the teaching work.
"Send by mail"
Teacher Tal Luria discovered one day that an article he published in a well-known journal was equivalent to a study hour and therefore he could receive a salary increase of NIS 300 per month.
Accordingly, he opened an application on the portal of teaching staff (minisite on the website of the Ministry of Education) and received in response a request to contact the email of the person in charge of the subject.
But then he discovered something annoying: "The person in charge told me that I had indeed come to the right place, but asked me to send the forms and the magazine by regular mail," he says.
When he replied that he had sent all the files by email anyway, she replied that she had received the forms "but I must send it by mail, otherwise they will not recognize me in the article. Really insisted. So I printed everything, went to the post, stood in line, paid for an envelope and I wait "Instead of devoting 20 minutes to it, I wasted half a day. It's just frustrating, one big awkward awkwardness."
Class teacher (illustration), Photo: Ami Shumen
Everyone who comes to work in the Ministry of Education knows that it is impossible to escape the bureaucracy and the forms, and that everything is required for approval.
But it is not clear to teachers, principals and coordinators why this certificate must be on paper and sent by mail or fax, at a time when many government ministries have already undergone a digital revolution.
Absurdly, the Ministry of Education, the one that is supposed to be innovative and groundbreaking - lags behind.
"Teachers and principals have to fill out and send dozens and even hundreds of forms a year, and in any such form no change can be made. You have to print, fill in handwriting and then fax or photocopy and send by email. There are very few forms that can be filled out online," he adds. Tal Luria, who also runs the blog 'Diary of a Teacher'.
To Dreditt, "This is not just bureaucracy, it also hurts teachers in the pocket. Any delay affects the salary."
"Do not believe teachers"
Mazal is a teacher in the southern region.
In order to develop herself, she decided to do a master's degree - which also adds to her monthly salary, if only slightly.
“I had to update the Ministry of Education that I had a master’s degree,” she says, “but surprisingly there is no way to do it directly.
"You can not send an email to the Southern District or upload forms to the site in the personal area. The only option they give is to forward the forms via the school principal's email, and he should send it to the Southern District. And even when he sent, it took them more than a month and a half to update. This time he sent the forms several times. "
According to her, no one has explained to her so far why this is the only way: "The feeling is that teachers do not believe, and the principal must sign 'faithful to the source' on the certificate. "I have to talk to the Southern District that handles this, understand where it stands, but there is no phone for the Southern District, at least not that I found it."
The corona as a model
The example of teachers and the knowledge of the land is particularly outrageous. "" There is an outdated procedure, in which the monthly hourly report must be physically submitted on paper.
In other words, it should be brought to the district or sent by mail, "says Moshe, a teacher of the Shelah.
"This is a very archaic thing," he emphasizes, explaining that it could delay some of the salary: At the Ministry of Education.
In other words, if for some reason it is delayed or lost in the mail - the salary will arrive late. "
Using a fax machine (illustration), Photo: Getty Images
What particularly infuriates him as a teacher is that the corona showed that it was possible to do otherwise, when the procedure was different during the closure period - but was repeated: "In the corona they knew how to do it differently.
The Ministry of Education is lagging behind, "Moshe concludes.
Another issue that bothers him is the parental permits that are required for leaving school for tours and Shelach days: "As a Shalach teacher," he says, "I find myself dealing with this three times a week. Signed, so it is clear to everyone that a message from the parent to the teacher is not sufficient.
"But we've been running for enough years in the digital world, and there are solutions for digital signing. The Ministry of Education is already doing it in Mashuv and did it with approvals for corona testing, but the digital revolution has missed the Ministry of Education, unfortunately, and it's a shame."
"top priority"
The Ministry of Education responded: "The Ministry of Education attaches paramount importance to the provision of services to teachers. In light of this, it is constantly working tirelessly to make them accessible online, friendly and easy to use. Over the past few years, many services have been made For teachers.
Regarding the hours report of teachers and the issuance of parental certificates, it should be noted that these are in advanced work processes through the digital channels. That they can not be obtained in a reliable and orderly manner through the network. "
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