Education Ministry blames Health Ministry's 'indecisiveness’ in reopening

A senior official in the Health Ministry said that his ministry is not prepared to return children in grades one and two to school because of “indecision in the Health Ministry.”

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
Students return for the new school year, September 1, 2020 (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Students return for the new school year, September 1, 2020
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The Education Ministry is insisting that if the Health Ministry’s plan of dividing first and second grade classes into capsules goes through, it will take a minimum of five weeks to implement.
According to the exit strategy laid out by the Health Ministry, first through fourth grade classes were meant to resume already next week.
A senior official in the ministry said that his ministry is not prepared to return children in grades one and two to school because of “indecision in the Health Ministry.”
He said during a brief on Tuesday that, “we estimate it will take no less than five weeks from receiving the money” to hire teachers and implement such a strategy. “You cannot recruit before receiving funds.
“In such a situation, in order to maintain health, one thing that can be done is that first and second graders will learn only half a week. We are preparing for all situations.”
The official walked the press through the decision-making history, reminding them that the Education Ministry originally presented a NIS 10 billion plan in July that would have taken two months to implement - the bulk of the challenge recruiting teachers.
The plan was presented to the prime minister and members of the coronavirus cabinet at the time, as well as senior officials in the Health Ministry. Then, a team of the three director-generals - Health, Finance and Education ministries - was convened. Ultimately they decided there was not a need for first and second grade classes to be divided and hence the Education Ministry set out to get an NIS 4 billion plan approved.
It was. Schools opened according to that plan on September first. Now, the Health Ministry has changed its outline.
The official said that “answers vary from person to person and each person changes his mind. A week ago we received an answer: first and second grades are returning as expected. Today, ahead of the discussion with the head of the budgets department, we received a document from the Health Ministry that they want the grades divided.
“We accept the Health Ministry outline, but it has pointed implications.”

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According to the official, the first is money to hire teachers. The second is space. If all classes are divided then grades five and six will need to learn somewhere else - likely in the middle schools. Eventually, those students will return, and again they will need a place to study.
If middle and/or high schools students are asked to learn in the afternoon, then there is a violation of the wage agreements with the teachers and this would have to be negotiated.
“The issue is not between us and the Health Ministry,” the official stressed. “It is between the Finance and Health ministries.”
The Finance Ministry has said it is unwilling to spend the money required to open first and second grades in capsules.
In response to hearing about the proposed plan of dividing the classes, the head of the local authorities, Haim Bibas, said that the proposal is “ridiculous.”
“It will harm their learning, their routine, their social life and is simply inapplicable,” Bibas said. “I call on the Education and Health ministries to reach a logical solution.”


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