The education system in Israel is not adapted to the 21st century, Education
Minister Shai Piron said at a conference for strategic thinking in education
held this week at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem.
“Israeli children
read less and think less,” he said. “There were a few changes and blessed things
that happened but it is not enough, it does not match the rate of what the world
demands of our children.
“We are committing an offense to our job because
teachers know that what they are teaching and doing is irrelevant,” Piron added.
“They know they are cooperating with a problematic manipulation and that needs
to change.”
The education minister stressed the importance of updating
the system and said that the reason why it has not been done yet has to do with
the fact that politicians don’t tend to undertake project as such, which he
claimed “will take 15 years.”
“There should be a clear decision to go for
the long term because that’s what the next generation needs,” he continued. “I
can’t commit to always do the right things but I do commit to doing only things
that relate to long-term infrastructures in the Israeli education system.”