Education minister: More school hours this year
Minister Sa'ar announces in Knesset Education Committee new school year to see thousands of additional study hours on mother tongue, math, English. Ministry's goals include educating on Judaism, democracy, army recruitment . Sa'ar says solution to teen violence is with youth movements
Sa'ar said that additional hours will also be devoted to training and to projects of the Ofek Hadash initiative. He stated that the ministry's goals for the new school year include education on Jewish, Zionist and democratic values as well as promoting excellence, narrowing social gaps and encouraging army recruitment.
"Schools with high army and national service recruitment rates will be rewarded with funds, for teachers as well," Sa'ar said. The minister added that schools with excellent achievements in the social field, will also be rewarded financially.
Optimism aside, the minister reiterated alarming data indicating that the annual expense per student in Israel is 25% smaller than the average in OECD countries.
Sa'ar stressed that he is approaching matters without spending time and energy on struggles within the system but by focusing on education. "I have announced that I shall form a wide coalition for the education system, not just within the political realm but also in civil society," he said.
Sa'ar (L) and Education Committe chairman Zevulun Orlev on Wednesday's meeting (Photo: Dudi Vaaknin)
The education minister also stated, "There are always local problems, we are doing our best that the year begins with a minimum of incidents and I believe that will in fact be the case."
Sa'ar added that he intends on fortifying state and state-religious education which were slightly overlooked by former education ministers in favor of private education. "We are in danger of emphasizing social gaps in Israel," he explained.
The minister further added that one should not ignore Israeli students' recent unsatisfactory achievements, "Achievements reflect on education level. We have the best kids in the world, there is no reason we should be below par."
Addressing the growing violence among teens, particularly during the summer vacation, Sa'ar said that once there are more children participating in youth movement activities the streets will see less crime. "The key point is that education is an investment – not an expense…If we invest more on education we won't have so many welfare expenses in the future," the minister stated.
