The Education Ministry and the teachers' union announced Sunday the parties managed to bridge their differences over COVID-19 testing and quarantine in the education system, averting a strike at the wire.
As per the agreement, testing kits will be distributed regularly to all school staff, alongside the previously announced decision to exempt all students exposed to a verified coronavirus carrier from compulsory isolation.
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Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton and teachers' union chief Yafa Ben-David
(Photo: Hadar Yoavian)
Special education students will undergo COVID testing, except in institutions for students with certain developmental, mental and physical disabilities.
The ministry will monitor parental reports on children’s tests through a designated online portal.
The agreement between the two sides has effectively prevented a nationwide strike by the teacher's union, whose chief last week lambasted the government's decision to do away with health control measures in schools before calling for a snap strike, which was eventually halted by a court injunction.
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Masked-up students and teachers in class at a central Israel school during the COVID-19 pandemic
(Photo: Kobi Koaneks)
"Returning our children to school and daily routine is the order of the day," said Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, who welcomed the agreement. "This new outline will ensure the safety of all educational staffers."
Teachers' union chief Yafa Ben-David, said: "We insisted that the state must also include the health of teaching staff in its set of considerations, and I am glad that the representatives of the ministry, headed by the minister, supported the changes to the outline."
Shortly after the announcement, the union's Facebook page was flooded with angry reactions from teachers, some of which labeled the agreement as "a total failure," while others criticized Ben-David for "conceding" to the ministry's wishes.
The Education Ministry, meanwhile, said that local authorities have received 24,140,720 antigen kits to date, which account for 74% of the amount primary and secondary schools were slated to receive.
The ministry also noted that post-primary schools today received about 1.7 million kits, close to 30% of all kits promised.