Finance Minister Yisrael Katz, along with the head of the Federation of Local Authorities, Haim Bibas, have come to an agreement regarding an economic safety net that will enable all children in grades one and two to learn a full week in school, and will provide local authorities with sufficient funding to keep afternoon programs open as well.
As a condition for canceling the requirement for learning in capsules in this age group, the Health Ministry is demanding that children remain in the same groupings all day, until the conclusion of their afternoon programs. Since not all children remain in school for afternoon programs, and would usually be combined with other classes for the afternoon hours, this means that the number of afternoon programs will have to more than double, and around 6,000 new teaching staff for these hours will have to be found.