Preschool child (illustrative)
Preschool child (illustrative)iStock

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) and Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton (New Hope) have agreed that preschools will run through July this year, as part of the "summer school" program.

The program began several years ago, and initially included only students in grades 1-3. In the past two years, as Israel battled the coronavirus pandemic, the program was expanded to include preschools as well - an addition that it is now clear will continue to be funded this year.

"Summer schools provide an educational solution for children," Liberman said. "We will continue to advance, support, and encourage employment of young parents and middle-class families."

Shasha-Biton added, "Preschool children must be part of the summer schools. Therefore, we did not agree to compromise and we succeeded in including them in the program for this coming summer."

"We will not leave the preschool children behind, and we will ensure that this coming year, they will be included in the basic budget, just like students in grades 1-3."