Education Ministry and assessment authority clash again over wartime school data

Tensions between Education Minister Yoav Kisch, the Education Ministry leadership, and the National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation, known as RAMA, have flared again over findings on how the education system in Israel’s north and south functioned during the war. The dispute was reported Wednesday on Kan News’ “Half the Day” on Reshet Bet.

In a letter to RAMA director general Gal Alon, Education Ministry director general Meir Shimoni sharply criticized the authority’s plan to soon publish review reports on the performance of the northern and southern education systems during the fighting without holding a prior discussion or presenting the data to ministry professionals first.

Shimoni wrote that RAMA’s conduct, by refusing to hold a professional discussion with Education Ministry experts before publishing its reports, “is absolutely unacceptable.” He asked that the ministry staff be shown the data first so they can discuss it and only afterward release it publicly.

According to the research data, the findings include both failures in the performance of the education system in the Tekuma administration and in the northern education system, alongside positive points. The new disagreement again centers on whether Kisch’s ministry should accept the data as presented or insist on a discussion before publication, as the minister demanded.