Israel’s Education Minister on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of mass school closures during the ongoing wave of COVID outbreaks across Israel, and called for an end to public debate over the possibility of imposing such closures.
Speaking at an Education Ministry meeting Wednesday, Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton (New Hope) said a mass closure of the education system “won’t happen”.
“Today, we enjoy the full support of experts who say that we must not close the education system. More and more people are coming to understand the terrible damage that closing [the education system] does to children, and we have seen recently the serious consequences lockdowns have for children.”
“The discussion about closing the school system hurts children and their parents. After a difficult year and a half, with some children developing mental health challenge, we pushed to resume studies on time on September 1st, despite the criticism, and we vowed to ensure continuous learning for the sake of stability and mental wellbeing of our children. And that is how we will continue to act in these trying times.”
“Our children need this for their daily routine. Every place on earth is dealing with high infection rates, but in most places, the education system is sacrosanct.”
Shasha-Biton noted that despite a surge in infections and a corresponding rise in quarantines among school children, more than 90% of students are still going to school for in-person learning.