Israel's education system is currently lacking 5,671 teachers with the region of Tel Aviv experiencing the strongest deficit, the Education Ministry said Sunday. Three years ago, as a reminder, the State Comptroller warned of a manpower shortage yet nothing has apparently been done to rectify the problem.
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The most significant shortage, according to the ministry's data, is in elementary schools, where 2,351 teachers are lacking.
"We are in the midst of the peak of a human resources shortage that has only gotten worse in the last few years and is seriously endangering the future of Israel's education system," Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton was quoted as saying just a month and a half before the beginning of the school year.
Older grades are short of 1,245 teachers, while the special education sector is lacking 1,103 staffers. The situation is slightly better in middle school, where the ministry reported a deficit of 855 educators. Kindergartens are said to be lacking 117 teachers.
The lack of English and math teachers is the most glaring area of concern. In elementary schools, 424 English teachers and 251 science teachers are missing; in middle schools, 247 English teachers, 196 math teachers, 214 science teachers, and 198 Hebrew language teachers are missing. High schools, meanwhile, are in need of 200 English teachers, 156 math teachers, and 131 Hebrew teachers.
Schools in the Tel Aviv area were facing the biggest staff shortage of 1,847 educators. There are also 457 teachers lacking in the Haifa region, and 305 in the Jerusalem area.
The Israel Teachers Union responded to the report by saying that "Israel's education system is in a state of collapse."
"For years we have been decrying the intense shortage we are experiencing," the union stated, once again urging the government to raise teachers' wages and improve their working conditions.
In early June, the union organized a series of nationwide strikes demanding that a starting teacher's salary amount to $3,069, while the Finance Ministry insisted on $2,514.
Head of the Teachers Union Yaffa Ben-David was slated to meet with Kobi Bar-Nathan, the head of the Department of Salary and Employment Agreements at the Finance Ministry, on Monday to discuss improving teachers' working conditions.
"Teachers are fleeing the profession due to the disgraceful salaries and conditions," Ben-David said on Sunday. "I call on Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman to wake up and come to their senses quickly. If a wages agreement isn't signed soon, the school year will not begin, and the country's parents will know very well who is to blame for this foot-dragging."
The Finance Ministry said the Education Ministry's figures "highlight the need for significant compensations for young teachers, with the option for personal contracts for in-demand subjects, and for an agreement that will propel the education system forward."
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