by Keren Setton
JERUSALEM, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Like many other countries, Israel is gradually returning to routines after carrying out strict COVID-19 restrictions for weeks.
One of the biggest challenges facing officials is how to re-start the national education system, with almost 2 million school children in Israel.
"There is a huge challenge, but also a great opportunity," said Yaacov Yablon, director of the Churgin School of Education at Bar Ilan University.
As schools were ordered to shut down in early March, the education system struggled to transit to distance learning which highlighted some problems.
The Israeli families have an average of three children, and many do not have a computer for each child. Parents working from home often have to share a computer with their children throughout the day in order to complete their assignments.
After receiving much disapproval, Israel's education minister announced the distance studies were not mandatory.
"All the inherent weaknesses of the system are now magnified," said Tammy Hoffman, a researcher at the Israeli Democracy Institute. "Half of the households in the bottom percentile have no internet connection at all and only half have a computer."
The pressure on decision-makers to open up schools is mounting from various directions, since it will be almost impossible to kick-start the Israeli economy, if a major chunk of the workforce needs to remain at home to take care of children.
On Thursday, Israel's central bank said each week, the GDP is cut by about 2.6 billion shekels (740 million U.S. dollars) due to parents' absence from the workplace.
Israeli media reported on Friday that elementary schools may open at the beginning of May in a scaled down format.
Before COVID-19, there was a significant lack of teachers in the country, especially in the subjects of English and Sciences.
"The issue of crowded classrooms is more acute because of the virus and if there will be a gradual return to school with classes being split, more teachers are needed in order to teach in small groups," Hoffman said.
"This crisis could also be a great opportunity for people to find jobs," said Yablon. "There might be a chance to gain some really great teachers."
As the pandemic caused spike in unemployment in Israel, the total number of unemployed people in Israel currently has exceeded 1 million.
"If people stick to what is familiar and not to see this as a risk that harbors an opportunity, then we will return to a worse situation than what we started with," said Yablon. Enditem
