Piron calls for closer ties between Education Ministry and youth groups

Piron said his office is considering differential funding for youth group chapters so that poorer Israelis get more funding.

By LAHAV HARKOV
A meeting of the Knesset Caucus for Youth Groups. (photo credit: MK Michal Biran's Office)
A meeting of the Knesset Caucus for Youth Groups.
(photo credit: MK Michal Biran's Office)
There must be increased funding for youth groups in lower-income areas, Education Minister Shai Piron told the Knesset Caucus for Youth Groups and Informal Education Monday, which was filled with lawmakers in youth group uniforms.
Caucus leaders MKs Michal Biran (Labor) and Ronen Hoffman (Yesh Atid) came in shirts for Working and Studying Youth and the Scouts, respectively, and MK Motti Yogev (Bayit Yehudi), former leader of Bnei Akiva, came in the religious Zionist youth group’s uniform.
Piron said his office is considering differential funding for youth group chapters so that those in the periphery and those whose parents can’t pay as much for activities get more funding.
“If we look at the problems that we try to solve every day, like violence among youth, these groups have a key role in dealing with them,” Piron said, “which is why, first and foremost, we should set a goal of increasing the number of youth group members.”
The Education minister called for a greater connection between youth groups and his ministry, saying that a separation between formal and informal education “belongs in the eighties” and that the two must be combined.
“Youth groups are an essential and significant part of building children’s perception and values and we should do all we can to protect them and increase their activities,” Hoffman said.
Biran said she was a member of Working and Studying Youth for 17 years, and was a counselor and the head of the Negev region and alumni organization.
“That is the experience that built my world view and values. There is no replacement for the experience of being in a youth group, which gives independence to examine the world of adults and choose a path in life,” she said.


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