Study Flags Irregularities in Haredi Boys' School Enrollment Data

A study by the "Israel Hofshit" (Free Israel) organization has raised concerns about potential irregularities in the reporting of student numbers within the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) boys' education system, which could lead to improper state funding. The research, based on Ministry of Education data, highlights extreme fluctuations in the reported number of male students across different grade levels. It also notes that dozens of small yeshivas (religious schools) claim to offer four years of study, despite the typical duration for this age group being three years.

The study observed significant variations in student numbers between grades for the same age cohort, with figures dropping from 13,500 in first grade to 11,000 in eighth grade, and then rising to 14,600 in eleventh grade. Researchers suggest these patterns may indicate false reporting or the manipulation of student ages to secure higher budgetary allocations. The consistency and scale of these findings suggest they are not mere statistical errors or isolated incidents.

The Haredi education system serves approximately 550,000 students. This study focused on 208,000 boys in grades 1-11 within this system. Three analytical methods were employed, assuming a balanced gender ratio with a slight male majority. The analyses examined the boy-to-girl ratio, the progression of a single age group over 12 years, and the total number of students registered in grades 9-11. All three analyses revealed dramatic numerical discrepancies.

Researchers hypothesize that the drop in students from seventh to eighth grade, followed by an increase from eighth to ninth grade onwards, reflects an incentive to transfer students from "exempt institutions" (grades 1-8), which receive about NIS 4,500 per student, to "unique cultural institutions" (grades 9-11), which receive about NIS 9,000 per student. "Unique cultural institutions" do not teach core curriculum subjects, while exempt institutions are required to teach some core subjects.

An unusual increase in eleventh-grade students is also attributed to reporting twelfth graders as eleventh graders to obtain additional funding before they move to higher yeshivas. The study found a significantly higher ratio of boys to girls in the Haredi system compared to the state-religious system, particularly from seventh grade onwards. For instance, in eighth grade, there are an average of 88.4 boys per 100 girls in the Haredi system, while in eleventh grade, this ratio jumps to 118.4 boys per 100 girls, an 18.4% excess compared to a mere 1.2% excess in the state-religious system.

Individual institutions show even sharper anomalies. One Talmud Torah (elementary religious school) in Beitar Illit reported an average drop of nearly 50% in eighth grade in recent years, with similar patterns observed in Jerusalem and other institutions. The Ministry of Education stated that changes in reported student numbers do not inherently indicate false reporting and can stem from transfers between institutions or different counting methods. The ministry also noted that it conducts regular checks and has recently enhanced its oversight mechanisms and reporting rules, including limitations on reporting grade retention or skipping in specific institutions starting in the 2025-2026 school year, with budget cuts for non-compliant cases from 2026-2027.