"The number of students in educational institutions in the haredi sector
is expected to reach 26% of all students in Israel by the end of the
decade. The employment and productivity rates in the haredi sector are
significantly lower than in the general sector, among other things due
to the lack of basic studies which serve as a key component in acquiring
the suitable tools for entering the labor market. The key core subjects
are Hebrew, mathematics and English.”
Teach Core Subjects Or Get No Money, Gov’t To Tell Haredi Schools
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Israel’s new government intends to make haredi schools productive.
"The number of students in educational institutions in the haredi sector is expected to reach 26% of all students in Israel by the end of the decade. The employment and productivity rates in the haredi sector are significantly lower than in the general sector, among other things due to the lack of basic studies which serve as a key component in acquiring the suitable tools for entering the labor market. The key core subjects are Hebrew, mathematics and English,” a draft of a new Knesset bill reportedly says.
Therefore the government wants to revamp funding of haredi schools.
According to a report in Ynet, schools that teach less than 55% of the country’s core curriculum will get no state funding. Those haredi schools that teach 55% to 100% of the core curriculum will get the percentage they teach in funding up to 75% – i.e., schools that teach 68% of the core curriculum will get 68% of their funding from the state; schools that teach 98% of the core curriculum will get 75% of their funding from the state.
All haredi schools receiving state funding will also have to participate in the nationwide standardized tests that measure schools' efficiency and growth measures to the same extent and in the same way as an official state school does, in compliance with a recent High Court of Justice ruling.
But conspicuously absent from the new government’s push for haredi educational equity is a requirement for haredi schools to teach the two core curriculum subjects that most threaten haredi rabbis control of their communities – civics and science.