Universities in Israel are considering restructuring the academic calendar again to help IDF reservists join the upcoming school year while also avoiding delaying the start of the school year again.
The new proposal would have the school year start on December 31 as was decided two weeks ago, but after about three weeks the universities will go on break for a week, during which the reservists will be integrated into the school year.
After the week break, the universities will return to their planned schedule. Additional leniencies and aids will be provided for reservists as well to help them succeed in the upcoming school year.
The heads of the universities have reiterated their commitment to do everything possible to ensure that no student is left behind.
IDF requests further postponement to academic year
The new proposal came after the IDF reportedly contacted university heads and asked them to postpone the start of the school year to the middle of January in order not to leave the students serving in reserves behind. Education Minister Yoav Kish expressed support for a two-week postponement during a meeting of the Knesset Education Committee on Tuesday.
About 30% of all university students are serving as reservists, according to data from the Council for Higher Education.
The universities have opposed such a move, warning that another postponement could put the entire school year at risk and hinder the ability to reach the quotas of doctors, engineers, and social workers set by the state. Instead, they offered the new proposal published on Wednesday.
Since the beginning of the war, the start of the school year has been repeatedly postponed, although some private academic institutions have already started the school year.
On Wednesday, the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee approved an order allowing the IDF to transfer information about the reservists to academic institutions to allow them to prepare for the start of the school year. The order will allow the universities to immediately provide reservists with the benefits they are eligible for without requiring the reservists to file various paperwork.
The order will also allow academic institutions to reexamine their decision to open the school year based on the proportion of students serving in reserves.
The commander of the reserve forces, Brig.-Gen. Benny Ben Ari, told the committee that most of the reservists in combat are students. "The students who serve expect us to make the adjustments so that they are not harmed because they left everything to protect the country," said Ben Ari.
"We are in constant dialogue with the institutions to allow the reserve servants to finish this year together with their classmates. We already have several private institutions that, unfortunately, have opened this year and this creates a very big upheaval among the soldiers," added Ben Ari.
On Tuesday, Ben Ari told the Knesset Education Committee that the Council for Higher Education is considering requests for an additional postponement.