Haim Bibbs, chairman of the local government center, warned that if the problem is not solved, some students will have nowhere to go and some will study in caravans, public buildings and rented rooms outside schools. It will go down the drain as this is a temporary situation and eventually the classrooms will be built, according to them, the cost of building the necessary classrooms amounts to about NIS 3.5 billion.
Local authorities fear that the shortage will also mean that students will be forced to move to educational institutions outside their place of residence. The Center for Local Government will today hold an urgent discussion on this matter, in which it will be decided on the demands that will be placed before the government. Bibbs said the local government center had warned about the problem as early as three years ago, “but we are being ignored.” He said the shortage of classrooms has worsened over time “and without a solution we will find ourselves in a bigger pit.”
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai commented on the crisis, saying: “We are in a state of emergency throughout the country, when on September 1 many students will not have classes and there will be no teachers to teach them.” The chairman of the Knesset’s Education Committee, MK Sharan Hashakel (New Hope), held a discussion on the matter a few months ago and even then demanded that the Ministry of Finance approve the immediate allocation of money to solve the problem. “The situation is very worrying and we need to find urgent solutions to enable the start of the school year on September 1,” she said.
The Ministry of Education stated that Education Minister Yifat Shasha Bitton has been working with the local government in recent months with the Ministry of Finance to increase the scope of allocations to the authorities. “The ministry is working harder to approve solutions as soon as possible to increase the number of classrooms,” it was reported. The Ministry of Finance responded: “As part of the class building program for the years 2022-2026, a budget is set for the construction of 3,400 classrooms each year. The number of classrooms allocated from the end of 2021 to the present is an unprecedented number of 4,800.