The school year, less than a month away, may start without some 229,000 students who have no computer at home, because the Education Ministry simply does not know who they are, according to Yisrael Hayom.
Officials in the ministry confirmed this number, but added that they are working on mapping out all the students who are in need of computers, so they can pass the information on to Education Minister, Yoav Gallant. However, the overwhelming task may take time as the process hits delays.
These computers are needed since, according to Education Ministry guidelines, students from 5th to 12th grades are to study from home during the upcoming school year. These students will physically show up for school only twice a week, according to the ministry's plan.
Data gathered by the Finance Ministry, Education Ministry and the Central Bureau of Statistics suggests that computers are missing in all age groups. Among the Jewish, non-haredi (ultra-Orthodox) student population, some 37,000 elementary school students have no computer in addition to some 19,000 high school students who suffer from the same problem.
On Thursday, Gallant is expected to hold a press conference pertaining to the opening of school, during which the topic is expected to be discussed. The Education Ministry is considering solving the problem by providing students with end-user devices, including personal computers and tablets.
However, these devices will not be provided directly to the students but to schools, which would in turn lend them to their students.