Approximately 100,000 teachers and daycare workers have been instructed by the Education Ministry to go back to school and teach students who have been allowed to return to school thus far. Teachers and daycare workers who have refused to return due to themselves or family members being in a high-risk category should they be exposed to Covid-19 Coronavirus were notified that they would be fined 500 NIS per day that they miss.

According to a letter received by teachers who requested not to return, the reason for their absence was unjustified and therefore considered a personal reason. The Ministry warned them that they would, therefore, be fined 500 NIS for every day they miss.

The above applied even to teachers who requested to take a leave of absence without pay, as their request have bee denied. A spokesperson for the Teachers Union and for the organizations representing the daycare workers said that Ministry is making teachers choose between poverty and starvation on the one hand and being exposed to the virus on the other. What is worse, is that no one in the government consulted with the teachers before making the decision forcing them back to school, according to one representative.

According to a statement made by high ranking government officials to the Israeli media site The Marker, in the discussions between the government and the teachers union, it was decided that teachers choosing to not return to their jobs was an unacceptable position regardless of the reasons behind the decision. Thus, for any absence, the teachers were written up as having been absent without a good reason.

Many students returned to school last week and the daycares and nurseries returned on Sunday. Teachers who are single parents, in high-risk categories should they be exposed to the virus, or had no solutions regarding where to send their own children due to their schools not yet being open, were not offered any alternative to performing their duties, regardless of the strain that it put on their own personal situations.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)