Several schools plan strike Friday as kids return for new year
As 2.2 million children prepare to begin the new school year Friday, several schools, with parents' support, announce strikes over legion of complaints including lax security measures, disruptive construction work; other grievances include canceled school transportation and inadequate infrastructure.
Several schools and kindergartens across Israel have announced plans to go on strike on Friday morning over a legion of complaints, such as the continuation of disruptive construction work and lax security arrangements, as 2.2 million children prepare to begin the new school year after their summer vacation.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett and the his ministry's Director General Shmuel Abuav have set up an information center intended to address expected problems and strikes kicking off the school year.
Participating in Friday's strikes will be the parents of 1,500 children aged 3 - 6 in Tel Aviv, who already announced their children will not be attending the first day of school due to reduced security arrangements.
Specifically, the parents are objecting to the Tel Aviv Municipality's decision to no longer station a guard in each of the city's 35 regions, with ten of the 35 regions to now be guarded by 12 patrol squads instead.
In response, representatives of the parents said they would call a strike in 46 kindergartens from eight different regions in Tel Aviv.
The concerned parents are demanding that the municipality continue to station guards in each of the city's regions, while beefing up their strength with the 12 security patrol squads.
They also demanded that security cameras be installed in every kindergarten which will not have a permanent security guard at its gate.
Parents in the northern town of Zikhron Yaakov announced that they intend to go on strike indefinitely over what they claim is the inadequate infrastructure of one of the local schools.
The school in question currently includes 330 students in grades K - 12, and has consisted of four temporary structures for over a decade.
In the central city of Petah Tikva, the parents of 300 special needs students are similarly planning to strike over construction work that is due to continue on school grounds and into the school year, in addition to the canceling of the students' transportation services.
Some 600 education professionals, communication specialists and paramedical therapists who provide home schooling and additional care to children grades K - 12 who are unable to attend school due to health reasons, have also announced plans to strike, protesting the perceived foot-dragging in negotiations between the Education Ministry and the contractor they have been working for.
Over the past few days, the Education Ministry has been operating a helpline for citizens wishing to raise issues of concern in the education system.
According to its reports, out of the 504 calls received on Wednesday, 45 per cent were from parents, 22 per cent were from former students, 16 per cent were from education professionals, eight per cent were from higher education students, six per cent were from other concerned citizens and one per cent was from students currently in the public education system.
The calls, the ministry said, addressed a variety of topics: 19 per cent dealt with the final matriculation exams, 12 per cent with manpower, eight per cent with student signups and transfers, an additional eight per cent with school transportation and kindergarten-related issues, six per cent asked about student scholarships, five per cent spoke about additional costs demanded from parents, and six per cent were interested in special tracks and programs within the school system.
