Ministry slams teachers' 'unacceptable' comments

Disparaging comments about students written by teachers at Yitzhak Rabin High School in Kfar Saba are unacceptable and have no place in the education system, the Ministry of Education said in a statement on Monday.

The statement followed an incident reported by Channel 2 on Sunday evening, in which a teacher at the school accidentally emailed 12th grade students – expected to participate in a Holocaust education trip to Poland – an internal document containing derogatory comments written about them by teachers.

Among the remarks, students were called “liar”, “not so smart,” “speaks like a four-year-old,” “something with boys,” as well as “grown baby” and “sick”.

Students expressed their shock with the document and arrived at school on Monday morning to protest, carrying signs with the words written about them.

“It broke the trust with my teachers. I never believed that they could write something like that.

I was surprised, in a bad way,” one of the students told Ynet on Monday.

Yesh Atid MK Karin Elharar, chairwoman of the lobby for the integration of children with disabilities in the education system, expressed her agreement with the students’ protest.

“This is not about a human error from a teacher who accidentally sent the email, this is about the fact that the document should not have been created in the first place,” she said.

“How can we ask the students to behave in an appropriate manner if teachers show an example of unworthy acts?” she continued.

Elharar called the comments “abusive, insulting and dismissive,” and called on the Education Ministry to examine the issue and ensure that it does not happen again.

In its statement, the ministry explained that it takes the incident very seriously and has begun conducting an “in-depth and thorough investigation on the matter.”

Professional staff from the Ministry visited the high school on Monday morning and held talks with the teachers, who apologized to the students.

In addition, the ministry has summoned the teacher who sent the document and the local authorities to clarify the matter. No punitive action has yet been taken.