The Education Ministry on Sunday presented its plan for the operation of the upcoming school year under the shadow of the coronavirus.
In accordance with the summaries of the Education Ministry, Dr. Yifat Shasha Biton and the director general of the ministry, Yigal Slovik, with the Health Ministry, the school year will open as a series from kindergarten to twelfth grades.
Education minister Dr. Yifat Shasha Biton, stated that "the return of students to the routine in schools and kindergartens has a decisive effect on their personal and social mental resilience and the shaping of their personalities and therefore there is no doubt that their place is within educational institutions."
"In the last year and a half, the children have paid a heavy price due to the social disconnection and loneliness as well as due to the loss of many school days. We have a moral and educational duty to create certainty and stability for them for their personal and mental strength," the minister added.
The work plan includes: the opening of all educational institutions for physical learning, regardless of the color status of the locality, isolation policy adapted to the education system, with reduced physical contact in orange communities, and measures to ensure prevention and detection of coronavirus detection.
According to the plan, the closure of an educational institution will be done only if there is a significant increase in morbidity in the educational institution, by a joint decision of the district director and the health bureau.
In addition, daycare centers will operate as usual and informal activities will take place under all conditions, but in the orange and red localities, they will only take place in open areas.
In order to increase the scope of student exemptions from isolation obligations, a national serological examination will be carried out in August-September.
Health Ministry director Yogal Slovik said that the reopening of the education system was a high priority after the quarantine and distance learning requirements resulted in a 44% increase in referrals for suicide risk a nearly 25% increase in sexual assault (from 3,741 to 4,653 cases) and a 6% increase in risky behaviors. Alongside these, Slovik added that the number of vaccinated students is growing, which will further facilitate the reopening of the education system.