The 2025/6 school year began in Israel on Monday, but the start of the academic term has been overshadowed by several storms brewing in Israel's education system.
Education Minister Yoav Kisch on Sunday announced that the government approved the budget for security at schools for the school year, in response to concerns over the safety and well-being of Israeli students.
"The security of Israeli students is a red line, and I made it clear that we will not allow the school year to begin without the security budget," Kisch said. "I thank the prime minister for pushing forward the solution, and am glad that the government accepted my position and approved the budget."
How many students are going back to school?
A total of 2.587 million students are back in school, with the hope that routine will not be disrupted again by sirens and missiles. In addition, 253,000 teachers will return to work; however, this is overshadowed by the ongoing crisis in the number of teachers and kindergarten staff.
According to data from the Education Ministry, 180,000 students will begin the first grade in their first year in the education system, while 230,000 toddlers will return to kindergarten and daycare. For 149,000 other students entering 12th grade, this will be their last year in the educational system.
The data shows that there are 390,000 students eligible for special education, and 24,000 gifted students. Over half a million (582,000) will be studying in haredi (ultra-Orthodox) schools, with only slightly fewer students (579,000) studying in Arab schools.
Overall, there are 5,807 schools in the country this year, along with 21,600 kindergartens.
Netanyahu: '95% of north Israel's pupils back to school'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the 2025-2026 school year on Monday at the Begin School in Nof Hagalil, together with Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Mayor Ronen Plot, and Teachers Union Secretary Yafa Ben-David.
Netanyahu welcomed the fact that approximately 95%of pupils in the north began the school year, and noted that this was thanks to the severe blow that Israel has landed on Hezbollah and relentless enforcement on the ground.
Alongside the inauguration, Netanyahu visited the memorial dedicated to the memory of IDF Givati Brigade fighter St.-Sgt. Ilya Sankin, who fell in battle in the Gaza Strip, and met with his family.
The teacher shortage plaguing Israel
The Education Ministry also announced that there is a shortage of teachers, with 216 of these vacancies being in the teaching of the core curriculum.
This is actually an improvement compared to previous years, as part of an Education Ministry initiative to locate, train, and place teachers. The 2024 school year had a shortage of 1,674 teachers in the core curriculum, and the 2025 school year had a shortage of 504.
According to Pnima, an organization promoting solutions to educational problems in Israel, there is still a need to increase the number of students. According to an analysis it conducted, there has been a 2% increase each year over the past several years. In 2002, there were 1.4 million students in Israel. Since then, the number has increased by 1.1 million.
Students protest for the hostages
Students in over 60 high schools have said they will protest at the start of the school year to call for the return of the hostages. Schools in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Hod Hasharon, and many others will therefore be operating with only partial attendance.
"We are not ready for the school year to begin as usual so long as there are 48 hostages in Gaza," Naomi Or Ofek, 15, told Walla. The Tel Aviv teenager is the niece of the hostage Dror Or and the cousin of the freed hostages Liam, Noam, and Alma Or.
Or, who helped start this high school protest movement and is a regular at protests for the hostages, called on other teenagers to take part in the demonstrations, which are set to begin at 10 a.m. and end at noon in front of the Education Ministry.
The growing educational system in the Gaza border area
In the Gaza border area, 23,700 students are beginning the school year. Thanks to demographic growth in the region of Sderot and the regional councils of Hof Ashkelon, Shaar Hanegev, Eshkol, and Sdot Hanegev, the number of students has grown by 2,000 compared to the number in schools on October 7, 2023.
For hundreds of students who were forced to evacuate their homes on October 7, this marks their first return to school in the area.