13 presidencies and presidents of academic colleges of education, members of the Rama Forum, met this afternoon (Monday) with President Yitzhak Herzog in his residence. They asked President Herzog to encourage quality young women and men to come to study education and invited him to visit the colleges of education. Among the participants: the president of the Gordon Academy Prof. Yehezkel Teller, the president of the Levinsky-Wingate Academic Center Prof. Michal Beller and the president of Sakhnin College Prof. Faisal Azaiza.
The initiator of the meeting is the chairman of the RMA Forum and the president of Hamada Academic, a college of education in the Sdot Negev, Professor Haim Shaked, and it comes against the background of the president's willingness to join the effort to raise the profile of the teaching profession. Despite the significant improvement last summer in teachers' salaries and their terms of employment, the decline in the attractiveness of the teaching profession has accompanied the education system in recent years, and the shortage of female teachers and teachers is still felt in the schools. In recent years, there has been a decrease in the number of students completing education studies at universities and colleges, as well as a high percentage of education graduates who do not actually integrate into the system in the teaching professions and turn to other occupations.
At the beginning of their meeting, Herzog congratulated the college presidents and emphasized his commitment to contribute to the improvement of the teacher's status. "I attach great importance to the work of women and educators, and I have enormous appreciation for colleges of education that do a great job in training the next generation of teachers." President Herzog emphasized to the participants his great attachment to the colleges of education and noted that he expects the Legislature to give them greater independence. "Michal Raiti's mother, Tzvia, was a teacher, and one of the colleges of education, the Herzog College, is named after my uncle, the diplomat Yaakov Herzog 7." L. I see myself as obligated to act together with the presidencies and college presidents to promote the status of the teacher and to deepen unity in Israeli society."
The chairman of the RMA Forum Prof. Haim Shaked thanked the president for the hospitality and the great importance he sees in promoting teacher training. "The quality of the education system depends first and foremost on the quality of the kindergarten teachers, the teachers," he emphasized. "The solution to the shortage of teachers in the education system lies in making the teaching profession more attractive, and a central part in raising the cream of the teachers is related to strengthening the public image of women and educators." Prof. Shaked also added that "such a process cannot happen in one day and it requires many partners. Thank you, President of the State, that this challenge is on your agenda and that you see yourself as our partner in attracting more and quality young people to the education system and to work in our children's schools."
