Finally Something Good Happens: Why Dismantling the Ministry of Education Is a Lifeline for Teachers | Dr. Yaffa Boskila
Dr. Yaffa Boskila argues that the Ministry of Education has failed in its duties and proposes transferring school management and teacher employment to local authorities. She cites data from her book: 90% rate the teacher's status as low, 89% point to working conditions, and 87.5% to parents as the harming factor.
In an opinion piece in Maariv, Dr. Yaffa Boskila argues that the Ministry of Education has failed in its core duties: training teaching staff, recruiting them, and educating Israel's children. She describes the ministry as a "huge and bloated body" and a "monster that sucks up enormous budgets" that dissolve in Jerusalem instead of reaching classrooms. In her view, instead of managing the system, the ministry "tramples its employees." The author cites data from her book "The Status of the Teacher in Israel: From Degradation to Opportunity," based on 192 educators: 90% rate the teacher's status as low, 89% point to working conditions as a factor harming their status, and 87.5% point to parents as a central factor. She describes teachers working "24/7," forced to fund equipment from their own pockets, and drowning in "formology." Boskila calls for dismantling the Ministry of Education and transferring school management and teacher employment to local authorities, while leaving regulatory functions to the state. She argues that local authorities know the community, will synchronize formal and informal education, eliminate the "two bosses," save money, and strengthen teachers' status. She suggests leaving measurement and evaluation to RAMA.