Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Education Minister Yoav Kisch to restructure the school calendar if the war continues past the Passover holiday in an official letter on Sunday, which he shared on his official X/Twitter account.
Smotrich’s proposed calendar would have schools shift some of their summer vacation days to the month ahead, with the missed learning being made up over summer break.
While currently, the education system has shifted to remote learning with classes meeting over platforms like Zoom, Smotrich wrote that this system is ineffective and “is not a model that produces meaningful outcomes.”
'No justification' for continued remote learning
Additionally, it places an added burden on parents and disrupts routines, which, Smotrich said, is particularly challenging in the current situation.
Smotrich emphasized that “there is no justification for maintaining a framework which does not deliver educational value while at the same time preventing parents from returning to work in a consistent manner.”
Smotrich called on Kisch to adopt the recommended revised calendar as soon as possible “for the benefit of the economy and the citizens of Israel.”