2.6 Million Students to Begin New School Year as Education Minister Rejects Teacher Shortage Claims

Approximately 2.6 million Israeli students are expected to return to schools and kindergartens across the country on Tuesday for the opening of the 2026–27 academic year, including some 180,000 first-graders.

On the eve of the new school year, Education Minister Yoav Kisch sought to dismiss reports of a severe shortage of teachers, insisting that Israel's education system is prepared for the start of the school year.

“People are talking about a teacher shortage? Here is another fake story,” Kisch said Monday. “We constantly hear in the media about thousands [of missing teachers]. Today we are talking about 500 teaching staff members who are missing, in a system with 260,000. The system knows how to deal with that.”

According to Kisch, most of the shortages are concentrated in central Israel, particularly in the Central and Tel Aviv districts.

The Central District is reportedly short 140 teachers, while the Tel Aviv District is short 248. In the remaining districts, the shortages are described by the ministry as relatively limited.

“We expect a smooth opening,” Kisch said, while thanking education workers who, he said, “for years, through difficult times, have done the impossible and met the challenges.”

Kisch Accuses Media of Political Attacks

The education minister also sharply criticized media coverage of the education system and the teacher shortage.

“We are unfortunately encountering dismissive media discourse during the election period,” Kisch said, directly criticizing Channel 13 News, which he accused of politically motivated coverage.

“[The channel] is trying to attack and undermine according to a political agenda,” he said. “These are political arrows, and I say that explicitly.”

Kisch argued that such coverage also damages the status of teachers and other education professionals.

Despite the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the growing use of technology in education, he said, teachers will remain essential.

“The teaching profession has a future,” Kisch said. “We will need them in the age of artificial intelligence as well, and they will have an important role.”

Teachers’ Union Warns of Recruitment and Retention Crisis

The Education Ministry's position was challenged by Yaffa Ben-David, secretary-general of the Israel Teachers' Union, who highlighted continuing structural problems in the education system.

Ben-David pointed to the difficulties of recruiting and retaining teachers, overcrowded classrooms, violence against educators and the crisis facing special education.

“I want to say this unequivocally: We have excellent teachers and principals, and we need to bring more people into the system,” Ben-David said. “It is time to appreciate them and support them.”

“If you continue to beat them down, teachers will not come even from Thailand,” she added. “We need to retain the people we already have.”

Ben-David called for greater pedagogical autonomy for teachers, reduced workloads and smaller classes.

She also renewed her criticism of Israel's Special Education Law, arguing that it has placed excessive pressure on both mainstream and special education systems.

“The Special Education Law has collapsed the regular education system and special education,” she said.

Dispute Over Parent-Teacher Communication

Another dispute concerns communication between parents and teachers.

Ben-David welcomed a new Education Ministry directive intended to regulate relations between parents and educational staff.

However, the National Parents' Leadership has approached Kisch, arguing that the directive conflicts with guidance issued by the Teachers' Union, according to which communication with teachers should take place through email or the Smart School system.

Parents' representatives are demanding that the Education Ministry clarify who has the authority to determine the rules governing communication between parents and teachers.

Education System Places AI and Financial Literacy at the Center

Alongside the debate over staffing, the Education Ministry is introducing a series of new programs for the coming school year.

The ministry has identified three principal areas of focus:

• Belonging and security
• Identity and roots
• Knowledge and tools for a changing world

During the first week of school, educational institutions will be asked to devote time to strengthening social connections and trust between students and between students and teaching staff.

Particular emphasis will be placed on preventing violence, social exclusion and bullying, including bullying and harassment in digital spaces.

The annual theme for the Israeli education system will be “The Roots of Our People – Future, Heritage and Entrepreneurship.”

Financial Education Added to the Curriculum

One of the major innovations will be the introduction of financial education as a formal subject for ninth-grade students.

Beginning in the 2027–28 school year, the program is planned to expand to 10th grade.

The initiative is designed to provide students with practical tools for managing money independently, develop critical financial thinking and prepare them for adult life and the labor market.

“This year we will continue connecting roots with the future,” Kisch said. “We will expand STEM and artificial intelligence studies, introduce financial education for the first time and continue promoting innovative and personalized learning.”

Israel Expands Artificial Intelligence Education

Artificial intelligence is also expected to play a significantly larger role in Israeli schools.

As part of the expansion of the Education Ministry's “Real Israel” reform, the ministry plans to expand Program 720, designed to adapt teaching, learning and assessment to the age of AI.

The program will operate in English studies across middle schools and will be expanded to approximately 140 schools in STEM fields.

More than 12,000 English, science and technology teachers are expected to receive training in artificial intelligence.

Students in grades eight and nine will participate in a 20-hour AI program using personalized learning systems based on artificial intelligence.

Among other topics, students will learn how to use AI tools responsibly, develop critical thinking, identify misinformation and navigate ethical issues surrounding artificial intelligence.

AI Enters Israel's Matriculation Exams

The changes will extend to Israel's matriculation examinations.

AI tools will be incorporated into matriculation assignments in more than 10 STEM study tracks, according to the Education Ministry.

In addition, 27 schools, from Dimona in southern Israel to Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, will launch a dedicated artificial intelligence studies track.

Graduates of the program will be eligible for a technological certification.

The ministry is also setting a long-term target for mathematics and science education: returning Israel to the top 10 countries in the international TIMSS assessments by 2029.

A New School Year Amid a Broader Debate

The opening of the school year therefore comes amid a broader debate over the future of Israeli education.

The Education Ministry says the system is operationally prepared and that the teacher shortage is manageable.

Teachers' representatives, however, argue that the deeper challenge is not simply the number of vacant positions, but the ability to attract, retain and protect qualified educators in a system facing overcrowding, violence, growing workloads and rapidly changing technological demands.

At the same time, the ministry is attempting to position artificial intelligence, STEM education, financial literacy and personalized learning at the center of Israel's educational strategy for the coming years.