Gantz: Government is weighing a month delay in starting the school year

Defense Minister Benny Gantz says the option of pushing off the start of the school year by a month is being considered by government officials.

“We’re in a dilemma: in September there are 6-7 days of school” due to the series of Jewish holidays that month, Gantz tells Walla News. “If there are just 7 days then perhaps it is worth waiting a month… in order to get a bit further away from this COVID wave.” Various accountings indicate that there could be 10-12 school days in the month of September.

Gantz says he is “not ruling out the possibility of delaying the school year by a month.”

Currently, schools nationwide are slated to reopen on September 1. The prime minister’s office says that it will hold a meeting early next week with Education Ministry officials, where “a decision will be made on all issues and aspects” of the education system.