Urgent Demand to Education Minister Yoav Kisch: Cancel Mandatory Exams for Students on the Northern Border

The National Parents’ Leadership and the National Student and Youth Council sent an urgent joint letter to Education Minister Yoav Kisch on Sunday, demanding the immediate cancellation of the remaining matriculation exams for students living along Israel’s confrontation lines.

According to the proposal, students in affected areas in the north and south would receive their matriculation grades based on school assessments and existing internal grades, rather than being required to sit for the remaining external exams.

The organizations also asked that students who still wish to take an external exam be allowed to do so, particularly those who want the chance to improve their final grade.

In the letter, the parents’ and students’ representatives argued that the current situation creates serious inequality between students in conflict zones and the rest of the country.

They said students who have spent months coping with sirens, evacuations, protected rooms, anxiety and ongoing disruption cannot reasonably be expected to take national exams under the same conditions as students whose daily lives have continued more normally.

The demand comes amid continued escalation on the northern border, renewed rocket and drone fire from Hezbollah and the ongoing difficulties faced by evacuated communities. Students from the south have also dealt with prolonged educational disruption since the war began.

The organizations warned that forcing the exams to proceed as usual would severely harm the chances of students already carrying an unfair burden.

Their request would effectively turn the remaining exams for those students into an optional path rather than a mandatory one, while allowing schools to rely on grades that reflect the students’ work throughout the year.

The Education Ministry has not yet announced whether it will accept the demand.