September 1st will arrive in more than a month and the shortage of personnel in the education system has been revealed. According to data released by the Ministry of Education today (Sun), there is a shortage of 5,671 teachers and kindergarteners in Israel. The data was collected at the request of the Minister of Education, Dr. Yifat Shasha-Biton, in order to formulate a strategic plan in the face of the crisis for the 2018 school year.
The data according to the study levels:
The kindergartens are missing 117 kindergarteners
In elementary schools, 2,351 teachers are missing
855 teachers are missing in middle school
In elementary school, 1,245 teachers are missing
In special education, 1,103 teachers and kindergarteners are missing
The shortage of teachers according to the field of primary education:
Classroom teachers: 1,295 teachers
English teachers: 424 teachers
Science teachers: 251 teachers
Art teachers: 178 teachers
Physical education teachers: 203 teachers
Total: 2,351 teachers
The shortage of teachers by field of study in middle school:
Mathematics teachers: 196 teachers
English teachers: 247 teachers
Science and technology teachers: 214 teachers
Language teachers: 198 teachers
Total: 855 teachers
The shortage of teachers according to the primary field of study:
Classroom teachers: 200 teachers
English teachers: 200 teachers
Mathematics teachers: 156 teachers
Language teachers: 131 teachers
Bible teachers: 60 teachers
The shortage of teachers by district:
The North District lacks 132 teachers
Haifa district lacks 457 teachers
340 teachers are missing in the south
In the central district, 1,642 teachers are missing
The Tel Aviv district lacks 1,847 teachers
The Jerusalem district lacks 305 teachers
The settlement district lacks 948 teachers
Minister of Education: The crisis is not specific, or in individual subjects, but comprehensive and deep in all subjects in the system
The Minister of Education, Yifat Shasha Biton, commented on the results of the data and said that the shortage is due to the salary and status of teachers in Israel. “The data proves beyond any doubt that we are at the height of a serious crisis in manpower that has intensified in recent years, endangering the future of the education system,” said Shasha-Biton. The struggle to raise the salaries of the teaching staff and improve their status is a struggle for the education of our children, for whom we strive to ensure the best and most dedicated education.”
The Minister of Education also said: “A significant salary agreement is above all in the interest of a country that strives for success and excellence, along with other professional processes that we promote in the system. Our economy and society have no future without a strong, stable and advanced education system.”
The former chairman of the education committee: the severe shortage of teachers is the result of a continuous drying up of the system
MK Ram Shefa, the former chairman of the Education Committee, responded to the Ministry’s report and said: Here the truth is blowing up in our faces. For many months I have been shouting from the Knesset that we are rushing to a crisis, and here this harsh report proves everything. The severe shortage of teachers is a result of “Continuous drying up of the system and refusal to increase teachers’ salaries. The salary increase and a dramatic improvement in the teacher’s status must be immediate in the current agreement and before the start of the school year.”