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26 Tammuz 5767 - July 12, 2007 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
CBS Predicts in Five Years Every Third Child Will Be Enrolled in Chareidi Education System

By Betzalel Kahn

A forecast prepared by the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) reveals that five years from now every third student in Israel will be enrolled in the chareidi education system. The report, which was submitted to the Education Ministry, shows by the year 2012, for the first time ever, less than half of all students will belong to the government (mamlachti) nonreligious school system.

The number of students in the chareidi education system has been on the rise across the country in recent years. The data indicates that this year one-fourth of all first-graders in the country are studying in chareidi schools. Of course Ministry officials, who are constantly in search of ways to hinder chareidi education, are less than thrilled by the findings.

Despite the efforts to undermine Torah-based education through budget cuts in every possible area — from transportation funding for students in outlying areas attending chareidi schools to regular funding provided by the local authorities — forecasts confirm that the chareidi education system continues to grow.

According to CBS predictions published this week in Ha'aretz, the decrease in enrollment at government schools in the Jewish sector that began in the early 1990s is expected to continue during the coming years. Every year this sector diminishes by 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the total, with the corresponding gains mostly in the chareidi schools.

According to the forecast, while the number of Jewish students in government schools is expected to have dropped 20 percent from 1992 to 2012, the number of students in government-religious schools will have increased 3.7 percent — and 196 percent in chareidi schools!

The figures also show that five years from now the distribution in the Jewish sector will be as follows: 50.9 percent of students will be enrolled in government schools, 18.2 percent in government-religious schools and 30.9 percent in chareidi schools.

When weighted against the entire education system including the Arab sector, government schools are expected to represent 41.7 percent of enrollment, government-religious schools 13.5 percent, chareidi schools 17.4 percent and Arab schools 27.4 percent.

 

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