Education Minister Yoav Galant (Likud) on Thursday evening refused to commit to starting the 2020-2021 school year on September 1.
In an interview with Kan 11, Galant said that the number of coronavirus infections will determine whether or not the school year begins on schedule.
Denying that he called the chair of the Teachers' Organization a "gangster" during a discussion on "summer school," Galant said, "Contrary to the image presented, we are in a system in which cooperation is the basis [for everything]. At the end of the day, our goal is [to help] Israel's students, and to change the teachers' status."
"I received a situation in which there was a disagreement that eventually ended up in court. We held negotiations with the Israel Teachers Union and the local authorities, and when the State's appeal was rejected, we made a security net and decided that from July 1 until August 6, there will be 'summer school.' These are three weeks that are paid for, and the sums range from 0 to 5,000 shekels for three weeks."
The crisis with the Teachers' Association, Galant emphasized, was due to "an agreement that wasn't good" but which was signed by the Finance Ministry with the teachers a few months ago.
"The teachers deserve more. They do an unusual task. It wasn't expressed correctly during the coronavirus crisis. This is an opportunity to tell them 'thank you.' I will try to compensate them for this."