Education Minister Limor Livnat on Monday unveiled a new plan
that she said will give every elementary school pupil the
same educational opportunity. Chareidi spokesmen were
concerned about the effects on the chareidi school system,
including the Bais Yaakov schools and Chinuch Atzmai.
The Ministry plan reorganizes the formula by which money is
distributed to schools, adds 80,000 new classroom hours, and
links funding to a core curriculum. It is this link which is
a cause for concern. This plan represents the first time the
government has intervened in the curriculum of chareidi
educational institutions, which have been totally autonomous
until now.
It was apparently rumors about this new plan that have
sparked declarations on the part of chareidi politicians and
rabbonim over the past months about the crucial need for
educational independence in the chareidi educational system.
This principle has been preserved for more than fifty years,
and it is considered nonnegotiable by all chareidi rabbonim.
The basic goals of education are different from the chareidi
perspective, and adherence to these goals is considered
critical for the future of chareidi society.
The plan, which is to start a year from now in September
2003, will be implemented gradually over a five year period.
Under the previous formula, funding was given to each class
without taking into a account its size or needs, said
Livnat's senior advisor, Yehiel Leiter. Different sectors of
society were also funded differently, resulting in an
inequitable distribution of the budget.
Under the new plan, funding will start with the needs of the
child, irrespective of the societal sector to which they
belong. A socioeconomic profile will be built for each pupil
taking into account the monetary and educational level of the
child's family, and other factors like whether the child is
an immigrant and where the child lives.
A monetary value will then be assigned to the child's needs.
The funding per class will be based on the per pupil monetary
needs established through this rating system. The same rating
system will also determine how many hours the pupils must
spend in class, Leiter said. In some cases, particularly with
children who come from homes where their parents are less
educated, there will be pupils who need a longer school day
to bridge the gap between them and pupils from a more
educated background.
Added into the formula will be a rating system based on the
school's acceptance of state supervision and a new core
curriculum, Leiter said. A school totally under state
supervision and 100 percent in compliance with the core
curriculum will receive 100 percent of its funding, whereas a
school with only 85 percent compliance with the core
curriculum and less supervision will receive only 85 percent
of its potential funding.
The plan will put 80,000 new classroom hours into the school
system by 2008. The Finance Ministry has promised to add
extra money into the budget to pay for half the cost of those
hours, Leiter said. It was not clear where the rest of the
funds were to come from.
The plan was designed in the last eight months by a committee
headed by Shimshon Shoshani, a former ministry director-
general. Shoshani said that once the new plan is in place,
there will not be any more court cases on the issue of
disparity.
A critic observed that under the new system, the schools in
the periphery have small class sizes and therefore they will
now receive less money.
Leiter insisted that "there is absolutely no reason to be
upset," and that the plan will not harm the state religious
or chareidi schools. He said the details of what is included
in the core curriculum or how much money is actually given
per pupil have yet to be hammered out.
Leiter said that the intent of the plan is to add money and
resources into the schools that need it, without harming the
more successful schools.
However in an earlier presentation, Education Minister Livnat
said that all recognized educational institutions in Israel,
including chareidi institutions, will be required to teach
civics and Jewish studies as part of the core curriculum.
"The plan imposes demands on all streams, all students,
requiring everyone to study a common base that is critical in
preparing mature and responsible citizens for modern Israeli
society," said Livnat, adding that chareidi institutions
"would teach subjects like mathematics, English, Hebrew,
Jewish studies and civics, which will be a universally
required curriculum."
Deputy Education Minister Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz said in
response that Chinuch Atzmai is as its name implies (i.e.
independent). "The whole idea behind Chinuch Atzmai is that
it really is independent in terms of its teaching content and
curriculum and how it is taught. Anyone, certainly the
Ministry of Education, can come and suggest to the Chinuch
Atzmai administration various subjects to study, but the only
one to make this decision is the Chinuch Atzmai
administration, headed by gedolei Yisroel shlita.
"Suggestions are being raised to teach civics in the chareidi
education system. We began with these studies before they
were ever introduced into the general system. But we teach it
according to our own understanding: derech eretz,
honoring parents, respect for teachers, respect for every
individual and consideration of others. All of the civics
studies we present, the good aspects of it, are not a new
invention. But certainly nobody will dictate to us--
particularly when everyone knows the general education system
has collapsed even in general studies like mathematics, since
recently the decision was reached that it had been taught
incorrectly for decades and now the correct formula is being
sought. All the more so does this apply to spiritual
matters."
Chareidi leaders will study the plan in detail and respond
when appropriate.
