Only about 20% of middle schoolers sign up for summer programs, and unused funds may go to AI studies

Education Minister Yoav Kisch said on Sunday that only about 20% of middle school students have registered for the summer preparatory programs meant to make up for school days lost during the war. Speaking during a visit to the Hartman School in Jerusalem ahead of the summer programs, he said participation is stronger in the periphery than in the center and Tel Aviv, and added that the ministry hopes to allow some schools to postpone the program to August if they want.

Kisch said more than 66,000 students have already signed up for the middle school summer program, which combines artificial intelligence, STEM, math, science and English. He described it as an unprecedented initiative expanded this year for the first time to middle schools nationwide, and said the model was built to fit the needs of municipalities, schools and families rather than a single target for every place. He also said any money left over because of low enrollment would be redirected later in the year to artificial intelligence studies.

According to the ministry, 127 partners from industry, academia and the nonprofit sector were recruited for the program, and a catalog of 239 educational and technological offerings was prepared. The activities will include workshops, hackathons, competitions, inspirational talks, meetings with content creators and senior figures from the high-tech and innovation sectors, as well as Minecraft-based activities and meetings with leading YouTubers.

The issue comes after the school principals group Manaheegim sent Kisch a harsh letter, reported by Channel 13 about a month ago, warning that the ministry had not prepared properly for the expanded summer framework. The plan is supposed to include students from grades 4 through 9, in addition to kindergarten and grades 1 to 3. Principals said that, with only a month left in the school year, no director-general circular had been published, there was no staffing plan, no decision on pay for teachers and principals, and no clarity on costs for parents.

Two weeks earlier, Kisch, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the plan for the “Summer Schools” framework for kindergarten through ninth grade. Kisch said it would run through July, Netanyahu linked the plan to his push on AI and said the state would help students make up learning gaps caused by the war.