The education system enters another day when the number of sick students breaks records, and the number of isolates effectively closes the education system in kindergartens (ages 6-3) and elementary schools (grades 1-6).
The latest data already indicate more than 56,000 sick students in the education system, to which must be added a report of another 82,000 in isolation.
Education Minister Yifat Shasha Bitton claims that "currently about 90% of students come to school."
Although it is clear to everyone that the number of students in isolation is unreliable, and that in practice it is hundreds of thousands.
The gap is due to several reasons.
First, the Ministry of Education does not receive or collect information about classes that are going to study in Zoom because it is a decision of the school principal.
When there are more than 15,000 teachers who do not come to work (11,000 patients and more than 4,000 who are not vaccinated and are in isolation) - students are sent to study zoom.
On top of that there are teaching staff who stay home because they are forced to care for a corona sick family member - like small children, who cannot be left alone.
Students in the Corona routine, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The Ministry of Education does not have data on these teachers, but it is a significant workforce that is simply absent from the frameworks.
The Ministry of Education and the Minister of Education have not prepared a reserve in advance that can fill the classrooms, so many classrooms, even those whose students are exempt from isolation (vaccinated or recovering), are moving to zoom.
"This is a statistic that is detached from the field, the Ministry of Education does not count those who stay at home and study remotely, but in practice they are at home with their parents. "To the kindergarten because her son is ill, so the kindergarten is not opened and the students are not in isolation, but they do stay at home."
She adds: "The change in tests that have become domestic produces a distortion of the picture. I know frames that do not open all over the country and this figure is unlikely, it is a lack of reporting and a lack of follow-up."
"Feeling on a roller coaster"
In the last few days she was in solitary confinement and yesterday her son returned to kindergarten, not before in the morning she received a message that the kindergarten teacher had been exposed to verification, and that she would arrive late because she needed to be checked.
"This is a roller coaster sponsored by the Corona," she says, and she says some of the parks continue to be closed even after the isolation is over, as there is no staff.
"We were at home for two days due to lack of assistants. On the third day the assistant was found to be verified, and we went into isolation. The hallucinatory thing is that when the isolation ended there was still no replacement, so everyone stayed home. In the afternoons. "
Corona tests at a school (archive, those photographed have nothing to do with the article), Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Recall that according to the new isolation outline the education system acts like the outline in the population, i.e. a vaccinated or recovering student who is exposed to a verified patient does an antigen test, and if it is negative - he returns to study at that moment.
A student who is not considered vaccinated and who has been exposed to a verified patient does a test, and goes into seven days of isolation if he is negative.
If he is positive, he goes into isolation until he recovers, when the shortening of the isolation time for recovering people to seven days was approved on Tuesday.
There are no creative solutions
The Ministry of Education's problem is twofold: First - when there are isolation-exempt students who can come to study, it fails to provide them with regular studies due to a shortage of teachers, and they are sent with the whole class to zoom.
The second problem concerns the fact that in many cases distance learning does not take place for isolated students, and even if it is done - it is not necessarily done with a teacher, since the students are sent to study independently through assignments.
The reason for this is elementary school teachers, some of whose students are exempt from isolation, which means that they can come to study - they do come to teach them, and in practice can teach a class of 12-8 students.
But in such a situation no one will teach all the other students in the class who are at home - unless the teacher agrees to turn on a camera and zoom in on the lesson.
Distance learning (illustration), Photo: Liron Moldovan
Meanwhile, Minister Shasha Bitton stands her ground and does not close the education system, but at the same time does not provide creative solutions to the problems that have arisen.
Shasha Bitton yesterday referred to the possibility of closing the education system, saying: "Talking about it harms children and parents, it will not happen. After a year and a half of complexity and mental distress developed by the students, we struggled to open on September 1 "The stability and mental resilience of our children - and we will do the same now."
She added: "I will continue to fight for the 'green classroom' to reduce unnecessary isolation, because it is a significant factor that will help maintain stability."
The public is not satisfied
Meanwhile, criticism of the minister's performance continues.
About 74% of parents are dissatisfied with its functioning, or only slightly satisfied - according to a survey conducted by the consulting firm Tefen, among parents of children from all over the country and from all sectors, regarding the conduct of the education system during the Omicron wave.
It also shows that about 72% of parents are dissatisfied with the functioning of the education system during the wave of the omicron, and about 70% of parents think that the education system has not dealt with the crisis creatively.
Also, 62% of parents think it is necessary to move to hybrid learning, 43% think it is right to move to capsules and small classes, and only 11% think that the education system should be left open at all costs.
As mentioned, the current wave is characterized by massive isolations of students.
According to the findings, almost 50% of parents report going into isolation between two and three times.
30% have gone into solitary confinement more than three times already, and only 6% have not gone into solitary confinement at all.
Regarding the effect on the employment situation - 18% of the parents stopped working due to the isolation of the children, 31% moved to work from home and 41% share the burden with the spouse.
Only 10% said there was no impact on the situation.
Mali Bitsur Parens, CEO of Tefen: "The results of the survey are clear, and should concern every parent in Israel who has children in the education system and shock the decision-makers."
Shasha Bitton said of the results of the survey: "More than two million children who go to school every day are the best survey. Those who today mistakenly admit their opposition to the start of the school year are the ones who will appreciate in the future He conducted the survey and what is his professional skill. "
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