Bill anchoring state haredi school system to be advanced

• Published date: 11 October 2021
• Author: JEREMY SHARON
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The legislation, which she said would be a government bill, would be developed in a new sub-committee dealing exclusively with the state's ultra-Orthodox school network.

Passage of such legislation is crucial to the further development of the fledgling school system which is severely hampered both by the fact that it is not an official state school network and at the same time faces severe opposition by the ultra-Orthodox political parties.

Most elementary-aged ultra-Orthodox boys study in school networks which do not teach core curriculum subjects such as math, science, computers or English, while the overwhelming majority of ultra-Orthodox boys do not study these subjects at high-school age frameworks.

This creates severe difficulties for ultra-Orthodox men when they seek to obtain higher education qualifications and when trying to enter the workforce, which analysts, including the Bank of Israel, have said will create severe difficulties for the Israeli economy in coming decades due to the rapidly growing size of the haredi community.

Haskel said during a committee hearing on Monday that the legislation would be prepared together with the ultra-Orthodox Department of the Education Ministry, the Finance Ministry and haredi community leaders on the issue "to find the right framework to allow the ultra-Orthodox to fulfil their potential in whatever manner they should choose."

She said the current government "has the opportunity to make the necessary changes which even ultra-Orthodox...