Northern Leaders Call for Incentives Like Those in Sderot: 'Teachers Here Deserve Them Most'
Photo: Knesset Spokesperson, Noam Moskowitz
Northern leaders are demanding incentives similar to those given in Sderot: “Teachers here deserve them most”
C14 Desk, two hours ago
The Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee discussed the challenges facing the education system in the north, amid the complex security situation. During the discussion, there was a clear call for additional incentives for teachers and psychologists, as well as an immediate solution to protection problems in educational institutions in the region.
Committee chairman MK Tzvi Sukkot stressed the importance of the issue and said: “Children in Kiryat Shmona were the first in the State of Israel in terms of their academic achievements, and woe to us if we fail to return them to that place because of the war.”
Dr. Orna Shemchon, head of the Northern District at the Education Ministry, presented data showing that מאז the previous committee discussion, 99,000 remedial hours had been allocated to educational institutions in the northern district, at a total cost of 12 million shekels. She noted that every elementary school and middle school received 100 remedial hours, and that the Arab, Bedouin and Circassian sectors also received hours under the five-year plan.
Photo: Knesset Spokesperson, Noam Moskowitz
Regarding incentives for teachers and psychologists, 262 remedial packages of 40 therapy hours each were approved, with an allocation of 3.5 million shekels. Dr. Shemchon explained that there is difficulty staffing psychologist positions, and that the remedial packages allow more treatment sessions for students. She added that a package of incentives for new teachers will be published in the coming week, but psychologists will not be included.
Asaf Langelben, head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, described the harsh reality on the ground: “The problem is not only Kiryat Shmona. Let’s imagine what it means for a kindergarten teacher to be with the children for hours in a reinforced shelter. Transportation and there is an alert, and the children run and cry. Imagine the teacher who has to calm the children. Imagine the mother who told me that her child started wetting the bed again at night.”
Photo: Knesset Spokesperson, Noam Moskowitz
He also referred to gaps in construction funding, noting that philanthropic assistance is needed to establish a new school, while the required matching contribution from the local authority reaches nearly 50 percent. MK Yossi Taieb added: “50 million shekels? We sit in committees and we know how much can be moved from one place to another with a snap of the fingers, so they deserve more than everyone else.”
A Finance Ministry representative clarified that, by government decision, funding had been allocated for certain aspects of the infrastructure needed in schools.
Deputy Mayor of Kiryat Shmona, Rafael Saleb, presented the immediate challenges in the city: “The story is that Home Front Command is now fortifying only half of the schools for us. Because half of the schools are slated for demolition.” He added that the current construction rate of 5,400 shekels per square meter is not enough, and that the amount currently required is more than double that. Saleb also called for grants to incentivize teachers and psychologists, similar to the 72,000-shekel grant given in Sderot.
At the end of the discussion, the committee announced that it would continue examining solutions to reduce protection gaps in educational institutions slated for demolition in Kiryat Shmona. In addition, the committee will ask the Finance Ministry to examine a unique formula for funding classroom construction in communities on the northern border.
