Finally something good is happening: Why dismantling the Ministry of Education is the lifeline for teachers | Dr. Yaffa Buskila

On August 2, an article by journalist Lior Dattel was published, revealing the dramatic reform being formulated by the Ministry of Finance. At the heart of the plan is an unprecedented move to decentralize powers: dismantling the centralized management of the Ministry of Education and transferring full responsibility for the operation of schools, kindergartens, and the employment of teachers directly to local authorities. In his article, Dattel outlines a grim reality in which the current structure, characterized by excessive centralization, creates chronic inefficiency and bureaucratic red tape that prevents the system from providing a flexible and rapid response to needs on the ground.

However, the criticism arising from the article is kind to the Ministry of Education and describes only the tip of the iceberg. The problem with the Ministry of Education is not limited to "bureaucratic red tape" or "chronic inefficiency" that Dattel points out. The reality is that the Ministry of Education, the body responsible for training teaching staff, recruiting them, and educating the children of Israel, has simply failed miserably in both of these roles. It has become a huge and corrupt body, a kind of monster that sucks up huge budgets that dissolve in the ivory tower in Jerusalem, instead of reaching the classroom floor. Instead of managing the system, the Ministry of Education tramples on its employees.

From this stems my main argument: the reform proposed by the Ministry of Finance to transfer powers to local authorities is not just an "interesting management idea" – it is an existential and necessary step to save the teaching profession in Israel. The time has come to dismantle the outdated structure of the Ministry of Education, transfer the management of schools and the employment of teachers to the municipalities, and leave only regulatory functions in the hands of the state.

To understand how urgent and burning this argument is, there is no need to rely on gut feelings, but rather on data. In my book, "The Status of the Teacher in Israel: From Disdain to Opportunity," a grim research picture is presented from 192 educators from the field. The data shows that an overwhelming 90% of participants rate the status of the teacher in Israel as low. Teachers describe their reality under the Ministry of Education with harsh words like "the new darkness" and "an energy-draining reality."

The main reason for this collapse is the working conditions dictated by the state. 89% of the respondents placed working conditions in first place as a factor damaging their status. The Ministry of Education treats teachers as a "jack-of-all-trades" on whom everything can be loaded. Teachers describe "slave conditions" and resources so meager that sometimes they don't even have a free chair to sit on in the teachers' room during a break, and they are forced to finance basic craft equipment and even coffee and milk from their own pockets. Instead of teaching, teachers become clerks drowning in "formology" – an endless culture of filling out forms and reports that wastes precious time. The stay hours, intended to allow the teacher to breathe and prepare differentiated lessons, are repeatedly confiscated for substitute teaching, and the result is that teachers work "twenty-four seven" and take work home, at the expense of their families.

Alongside the collapse of conditions, the Ministry of Education also abandons teachers in the face of parents. 87.5% of educators ranked parents as a central factor that harms their status. Parents allow themselves to call at six in the morning to demand that the kindergarten teacher wake up their child, and intervene blatantly in pedagogical decisions. Instead of the Ministry of Education and school principals giving teachers a backbone, they are afraid of the parents, preferring "industrial quiet," and thereby crushing the professional authority of the teaching staff.

Therefore, the implications of implementing the reform and transferring powers to local authorities will be a real life-saver for the system. First, every local authority has unique characteristics, and there is no body that knows the community and its needs better than the municipality. The local authority, which already manages non-formal education, will be able to synchronize it perfectly with the schools and create a true educational continuity for students.

Second, at the management level, the move will eliminate the absurdity that teachers and principals have "two bosses" (the state and the municipality) who land conflicting demands on them. The exclusive responsibility of the local authority will significantly reduce bureaucracy, save the huge funds currently wasted in the headquarters of the Ministry of Education, and flow them directly to schools to improve the work environment and recruit manpower.

And finally, unlike the Ministry of Education officials in Jerusalem, the heads of the authorities are subject to public scrutiny and the judgment of the voter. They understand well that quality education is the key to a strong and successful city, and therefore they will have the highest motivation to back the staff, set boundaries for unruly parents, and give teachers the peace and resources they need. We will leave the measurement and supervision functions to RAMA (National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation), but the management of education must be returned home – to the authorities. This is how we will take teachers out of the "new darkness" and return to the teaching profession the respect and opportunity it deserves.