This year's enrollment increased 15 percent in the
educational institutions united under the Department of
Chareidi Education and Traditional Jewish Culture in Petach
Tikva, where 25 percent of the city's students are now
enrolled at chareidi and Torah-based institutions.
The opening of the school year was notable for a total of NIS
1 million in renovation work at chareidi and Torah-based
institutions, including day-care centers, over 90
kindergartens, 15 talmudei Torah and girls' schools,
10 yeshivos ketanos and seminaries and 12
kollelim located around the city.
Before the opening of the school year the heads of the
chareidi education system in Petach Tikva received blessings
from HaRav Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, who offered them
encouragement and bestowed his blessing on the city's 10,000
chareidi talmidim. Education institutions in Petach
Tikva regularly consult with HaRav Shteinman for guidance and
advice.
Mayor Yitzchak Ochayoun conducted a comprehensive tour of the
city's chareidi institutions accompanied by the heads of the
education department, his assistant Mr. Moshe Spector, Rabbi
Menachem Schwartz, the director of the Department of Chareidi
Education, and City Councilman Rabbi Shlomo Korlansky (Degel
HaTorah).
They visited the main Bais Yaakov school, with 560 students,
and Siftei Ranenut, which has over 300 students and has to
turn away many applicants due to the lack of space.
When they arrived at Yeshivas Or Yisroel in Ganei Hadar the
roshei yeshiva thanked the Mayor for his assistance in
building the spacious dormitory and for funding to complete
the construction of the heichal for the yeshiva's 450
students, who have been studying in overcrowded
conditions.
One of the highlights of the tour was a visit to the Nesivos
Moshe School downtown, which now has over 300 boys and girls
following intensive enrollment drives by Lev L'Achim. The
principal of the boys' school, Rav Meir Tanenbaum, and the
principal of the girls' school, Mrs. S. Brune, expressed
their gratitude to the Mayor for making three new buildings
available for the sake of the children and praised the
Department of Chareidi Education for renovating and
installing air conditioners in the prefab classrooms in such
a short period of time and for outfitting them with all the
necessary equipment. Mrs. Brune told the Mayor about the
great success of the summer program held during the summer
break and funded by the department of Chareidi Education.
More and more families are choosing to transfer their
children from the general education system to education based
on Torah and yiras Shomayim, she said.
Mr. Spector reported on the city's long-term plans to
allocate land and public buildings for use by the chareidi
sector, in light of its high rate of natural increase. He
announced that the city is slated to begin construction on
four kindergartens for the Pri Megadim institutions, where
700 children from the Ganei Hadar neighborhood are currently
enrolled.
After becoming familiar with the needs of the chareidi
education system, said the Mayor following the tour, during
the course of the coming year he would ensure it is properly
funded and construction projects launched to allow the
expansion of existing facilities as well as new Torah
institutions in Petach Tikva.
