Education Minister Yuli Tamir
Photo: Yaron Brenner
Education Ministry Southern District Director Amira Haim
Photo: Sason Tiram
Refugees to study in Israeli schools
Dozens of Sudanese children to be integrated into Israeli school system with help of special classes
Seventy-six Sudanese refugees, ages four and up, will be integrated into the Israeli school system during the coming academic year, according to an announcement by Education Minister Yuli Tamir Sunday.
The Sudanese children will be enrolled in Israeli grade schools and high schools despite the fact that their parents are in the country under refugee status, and without permanent housing.
Israeli Support
63 Knesset members sign petition calling on prime minister not to deport Sudanese refugees arriving through Israeli-Egyptian border
Thirty-five of the children will be integrated into Eilat schools, 23 in schools belonging to the Eilot regional council, 16 in Arad, and two schools belonging to the Jordan rift valley regional council.
The students will be placed in special classes designed for children who have recently arrived in the country. They will spend 29 hours a week studying Hebrew, mathematics, and sciences; classes will be conducted in the children’s’ mother tongue Arabic.
Education Ministry Southern District Director Amira Haim told Ynet, “We are opening six new sections of kindergarten’s and classes designated for the Sudanese students only. We have already found Arabic teachers, since some of the children are Christian and some are Muslim.”
Haim also said the education ministry had allocated hours for dealing with emotional and psychological issues alongside the regular academic curriculum.
