Outgoing Education Ministry Director General Yigal Slovik on Sunday spoke about the atmosphere in the Ministry under Education Minister YIfat Shasha-Biton (New Hope), and about her recent decision to fire him over his support for administering coronavirus vaccines in schools.
"The whole business is insane, they're not implementing the decisions on coronavirus at all," Slovik told those close to him, according to Israel Hayom. He added that his exit is due to professional disagreements on Ministry actions, many of them specific to the coronavirus pandemic, between himself and Shasha-Biton.
"We need to act in accordance with government policy," he added. "We can disagree with the policy, or whether or not to vaccinate children in school, but at the end there are government decisions and we need to implement them. Instead, there's a lot of stuttering. The whole business there is a bit insane. There are things there which simply weren't logical. In the end, I am the Director General of a government ministry - when the government makes decisions, we need to implement them, not to be passive."
Slovik also told those close to him that, "When it comes to functional continuity of the educational system, vaccines are part of the need to preserve this continuity. They say they're doing it, but they're not really doing it."
Sources close to Slovik claimed that he planned to quit the Education Ministry for several weeks, and even met with Shasha-Biton and told her about it - and consequently received a letter that he was fired, even before he could officially resign. According to Israel Hayom, those who spoke with Slovik in the past few months heard that he was not happy with how Shasha-Biton is managing things, or with several of her statements regarding administering vaccines during school hours.
A source in the Ministry told Israel Hayom that Slovik was not fired in connection with the pandemic, but rather due to his performance and to the level of trust between him and Shasha-Biton.
"The Ministry is committed to all of the government's and Coronavirus Cabinet's decisions. We wish Mr. Yigal Slovik luck with the rest of his journey," a statement from the Education Ministry read.
Sources close to Shasha-Biton told Israel Hayom, "We do not judge people during their time of sorrow. We can only regret the style and wish Mr. Slovik good luck on his continued path." They added, "The Ministry under the Minister will continue to lead the joint efforts with the Health Ministry in order to preserve the school routine for the children of the State of Israel."