JERUSALEM, May 19 (UPI) -- The teachers union in Israel planned to strike nationwide Wednesday to protest government plans to cut 30,000 classroom hours and fire 2,000 teachers.
Israeli Education Minister Limor Livnat condemned the strike and said that the reasoning behind the strike in junior and high schools was not relevant since the cutbacks were decided in September.
Teachers Association Chairman Ran Erez said the teachers have no other recourse by which to protest the cuts in what he described as "the living flesh of the educational system."
As part of the protest, the teachers said they wouldn't hand in scores on pre-matriculation exams taken by high school pupils to improve their overall grades. Scores will go into escrow, according to the union.
