Will children in the State of Israel be able to return to their classrooms on time this September?
The jury is still out.
Israel’s Education Ministry announced Sunday the system is nearly 6,000 teachers (5,671) short nationwide.
Israeli Schoolchildren Start Summer Vacation, Teachers Still Wrestling with Finance Ministry
The biggest shortage is found at the kindergarten and elementary school levels, with 2,351 teachers missing from the elementary roster to teach some 1.5 million students, the ministry said. The special education sector is missing 1,103 teachers. The kindergartens are lacking 117 teachers and the middle schools need 855 teachers.
In the older grades, there is a shortage of 1,245 educators. Most of the deficit is being seen in teachers for the English language, math and Hebrew.
“We are in the midst of the peak of a human resources shortage that has only gotten worse in the last few years and is seriously endangering the future of Israel’s education system,” [New Hope] Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton said in a statement.
The worst deficit is in the center of the country, but here are the figures for those missing from the roster nationwide:
Northern region: 132
Haifa region: 457
Jerusalem region: 305
Judea & Samaria: 948
Central Region: 1,642
Southern region: 340
The Teachers’ Union has been warning for years about a shortage of personnel. Over the past year, teachers carried out a work slowdown and then finally a strike in an effort to “wake up” the Finance Ministry.
“There are not enough teachers in the system,” union chief Yaffa Ben David said simply. “They flee the field because of the low pay and the horrific conditions.”
Ben David warned further that if a wage agreement is not signed soon, Israeli children will not be able to return to their classrooms at the start of the school year on September 1.
“Parents will know perfectly well who is responsible,” she added.
