JERUSALEM
Israeli parents aren't having the usual trouble rousting their teenagers out of bed for school these days: Hundreds of thousands of secondary school students haven't seen the inside of a classroom for more than a month as their teachers strike.
The walkout reflects the profound problems sweeping the Israeli educational system. Slipping achievements threaten to erode Israel's reputation as a global center of scientific innovation and could jeopardize its economic and social future, observers say.
"You need equal educational opportunities and a high level of education to create social cohesion and economic security," said lawmaker Ronit Tirosh, a former Education Ministry director. "If the current situation continues, we will be at the bottom of the scale of developed countries."
Students who ordinarily would be preparing history and math lessons are spending mornings in bed, and afternoons and nights at the computer, in the mall, or on the beach.
"This sort of thing wouldn't be tolerated in any other country, that children sit at home for five weeks and nobody does anything to return them to school immediately with a solution for the entire system," said Ariela Rejwan. She and other parents are pushing for Israeli President Shimon Peres to mediate an end to the strike.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hasn't intervened personally to try to end the walkout, and he was heckled by teachers at a recent public appearance. His spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said he is trying to resolve the standoff.
"He's very involved from behind the scenes," she said. "It doesn't mean he has to be in the forefront."
Low pay, outsized classes, a system loaded with bureaucracy and uneven levels of scholastic achievement have been identified by both teachers and the government as major issues.
"We're teaching classes of 40 or more students," said Ran Erez, head of the secondary school teachers union. "In a single week, a teacher sees 400 students. Children are packed like sardines inside classrooms. Senior high school students learn 8 1/2 fewer hours a week than they did five years ago."
