Education Minister Moves to Fire Head of National Institute Over "Lack of Trust"

Israel's Education Minister Yoav Kisch announced his intention to dismiss the Director-General of the National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education (RAMA), Gal Alon, following the release of concerning results from the international PISA test among Israeli students. Kisch cited "a lack of trust" as the reason for the impending dismissal.

The move comes amid a significant dispute over the findings of the "Tnu'fa" science test. Minister Kisch stated that there is "no dispute" regarding the PISA test results themselves, attributing the observed gaps to "interpretation." He further commented that he was not surprised by the PISA outcomes, noting that the tests were administered approximately 18 months after the outbreak of the war, with hostages still not returned, Israeli forces engaged in Gaza and Lebanon, and no decisive victory yet achieved.

Kisch emphasized that the PISA results are not in question, but rather the interpretation of the data, particularly concerning the "Tnu'fa" science test. The PISA results showed Israeli students scoring below the OECD average in mathematics and reading, and significantly below average in science.