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Photo: Motti Kimchi
Education Conference
Photo: Motti Kimchi

Education Conference stirs debate

Draft delays, unifying society and protesting teachers; these are just some of the topics that are discussed during the Education Conference hosted by Yedioth Ahronoth and Ynet.

Several prominent government officials attended an education conference hosted by Yedioth Ahronoth and Ynet on Tuesday, discussing matters pertaining to high-schoolers, teachers, and Israeli society in general.

 

 

During the conference, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon raised the possibility of postponing the draft for high-schoolers so they could potentially finish their undergraduate degree faster.

 

Minister Moshe Kahlon (Photo: Motti Kimchi) (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Minister Moshe Kahlon (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

 

Some high school students who excel in their studies get the opportunity to begin their undergraduate degree while still in high school.

 

Minister Kahlon's suggestion was that such students would go on for another year of high school while finishing their degree at the same time. This would require postponing their draft, to which the IDF's chief of staff responded that the IDF could handle it.

 

"This idea is still in its diapers. The education system must be fully on board for such an endeavor," said Kahlon.

 

Education Minister Bennett interrupted

At the same conference, non-tenured teachers interrupted Education Minister Naftali Bennett during his speech, toting signs and hurling accusations: "Not giving teachers tenure is a crime."

 

'No second-class teachers' (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
'No second-class teachers' (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

 

One of the teachers stood up and said: "You are not responsible for the phenomenon, but this is your watch! You said, 'Let's talk,' but then you refused to meet with us."

 

The teachers were protesting their employment conditions, demanding they be given immediate tenure.

 

President Rivlin on equality and common ground

President Reuven Rivlin took the opportunity to discuss the need for unity amongst the various sectors of Israeli society, claiming that "every Jew knows what Yom Kippur is yet they're not interested in Ramadan. Arabs are (obviously) familiar with Ramadan, whereas they're uninterested in Yom Kippur."

 

President Rivlin (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
President Rivlin (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

 

"Unfortunately, Israel's Independence Day is a day of controversy because we see it as the first day of our redemption, the Jews. Arabs within the country perceive it as the Nakba (translated as Day of the Catastrophe). We need to find things that we have in common," said Rivlin.

 

He proposed, for example, that the country more warmly embrace the Russian tradition of Novy God, which is the celebration of the Gregorian new year and that the large Russian-speaking population in the country already regularly fête.

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.07.17, 23:23
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