Teachers blast Israeli Education Ministry for replacing them with 'babysitters'

Talila Nesher:

The Education Ministry has issued a public tender for outside organizations to hire teachers who would give many pupils an extended school day. The issue of outsourcing the hiring of teachers has been a source of controversy as many contract teachers do not get the same employment conditions as regular teachers.

Nir Michaeli, who heads the education department at the Seminar Hakibbutzim Teacher's College in Tel Aviv, said: "The main thing that I am bothered by is the quality of service that will be provided to the public." He said that instead of a long school day, the students will get a babysitting service that will be administered at the lowest possible cost.

The terms of the public tender explicitly state that the staff of these outsourced extended school day programs will not be considered government employees. Responsibility for hiring and firing and payment of the staff of the program lies with the outside organization, not with ministry.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 5, 2012 2:38 AM
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