NGO slams Education Ministry move to have fewer Arabs study to be teachers
The Education Ministry is trying solve the problem of a surplus of Arab Israeli teachers by having less Arabs study to be teachers.
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMONUpdated: JULY 8, 2016 02:20Students in a classroom [Illustrative](photo credit: REUTERS)
There is a surplus of Arab Israeli teachers and a shortage of Jewish teachers, and one civil society leader proposes sending Arab teachers to Jewish schools.“The solution to the problem of unemployment among Arab teachers could be solved by adding classes or having them work in Jewish schools,” Amnon Beeri-Sulitzeanu, co-executive director of the Abraham Fund, an NGO dedicated to promoting equality and coexistence between Arab and Jewish citizens, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.The Education Ministry is trying to solve the problem by having less Arabs study to be teachers, but Beeri-Sulitzeanu thinks this is “totally wrong.”“I truly believe the decision by the ministry comes from a genuine motivation to reduce unemployment among Arab teachers, and this is why they are trying to control the number of Arab teachers,” he explained.“However,” he continued, the solution should be to open up the entire education system to Arab teachers.“Right now they don’t because of the segregated school system,” he asserted.Asked if this is because Arabs prefer Arab teachers and Jews, Jewish ones, he disagreed.“In a democratic country,” he said, “it is not legitimate for parents to reject certain teachers in the public education system.”
![Students in a classroom [Illustrative] (photo credit: REUTERS)](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/257668 "Students in a classroom [Illustrative]")