Education Ministry data published on Monday showed that approximately 82,000 students are currently required to quarantine, and over 38,000 have active cases of coronavirus, Maariv reported.
Speaking to 103 FM Radio on Tuesday morning, Teachers Union chairman Ron Erez slammed the Israeli government saying, "It's not in control. We hear this advice or that advice, but in reality the educational system is paralyzed. One time student A is missing, and then B - soon there will be matriculation exams, and we can't prepare them. In Zoom the learning is less effective, but that's the lesser evil."
According to Erez, "in the current situation, now, we should move to learning online from home. Teachers come to school, they come in contact with a student who has coronavirus, they're sent for tests, they stand two hours in line, those hours are deducted from their salaries as hours they were absent - and the next day they are tested again."
Erez also slammed Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton (New Hope) for her management of the crisis, saying, "Every system should have one commander. With many commanders, we do not succeed. The Education Minister says 'white' and the Health Minister says 'black' - there is no one person who decides what to do."
"I say that the Education Minister has very great potential. I am usually disappointed when I have expectations which are not fulfilled. I am pretty skeptical and so I don't have expectations from politicians. What is happening in the education system is that every year or two the minister is switched and every minister wants to leave his mark. She has potential to succeed, she needs to speak with us, she understands education," he concluded.