Students at the Jerusalem-based Lev Academic Center say the college is charging them thousands of shekels a year on top of approved tuition for “Torah studies.” The complaints, filed in recent weeks with the Council for Higher Education, say the payment is compulsory and a condition for earning a degree, which would appear to violate council guidelines. According to the report, the extra fees amount to millions of shekels annually.
The issue has reportedly come up several times in council discussions over the years. In response to the inquiry, the Council for Higher Education said each complaint had previously been handled individually and that work on the matter was renewed in the past month.
At the nonprofit Israel Hofsheet, which received the students’ complaints, officials said that even if a religious institution is allowed to teach sacred studies, it cannot require students to pay thousands of shekels for them as a condition for graduation. They also said the council must ensure students are not forced to finance “coercion and discrimination” under the guise of an academic program, in violation of the law.
Students also say the Torah studies grade is included in the overall degree average, which they say can affect their chances of admission to advanced degree programs. Lev Academic Center said in response that students who choose to study at an institution whose identity is based on combining Torah and science are required to take part in those studies, except in rare cases, and that it has operated this way for decades and will continue to do so.
