State Comptroller Finds Serious Failures in Israeli Education Ministry’s Daycare Oversight

The State Comptroller of Israel, Matanyahu Englman, released a report on Tuesday highlighting significant shortcomings in the Education Ministry’s supervision of daycare centers for toddlers. The report, following a previous 2022 review, found that the ministry still lacks comprehensive data and mapping of unlicensed daycare centers, with an initial list from July 2025 identifying 683 such facilities. Although the number of licensed private daycares increased by about 40% over three years, from 2,127 in the 2022-2023 school year to 2,994 in 2024-2025, the ministry had no formal procedure or comprehensive plan by October 2025 to identify or encourage unlicensed centers to obtain licenses.

The report also noted that despite a 140% increase in the number of inspectors (from 25 in 2021-2022 to 61 in 2024-2025), each inspector still oversaw an average of 83 centers, and 14% of centers in the reviewed districts received no inspection visits during 2023-2024. Moreover, in 43% of centers, only one inspection was conducted. Regarding criminal background checks, the ministry disqualified only a small fraction of involved individuals due to relevant records, and in many cases, local managers did not conduct follow-up inspections after such disqualifications.

A major concern was the inadequate enforcement of camera installation requirements, which are mandatory for licensing. In the 2023-2024 school year, about 4% of 3,300 inspected centers lacked cameras entirely, and many others had malfunctioning systems that failed to record activities properly. The ministry lacked an effective mechanism to verify camera installation or monitor their functionality, with 27% of centers showing at least one camera-related fault. Additionally, 14% of centers failed to retain footage for the legally required 30 days.

Safety inspections revealed serious deficiencies: 24% of licensed centers had electrical infrastructure issues, 10% had building safety problems, and many had unsafe outdoor areas. Despite mandatory safety certifications for licensing, over half of the centers failed to provide all required documentation. The ministry’s oversight was deemed ineffective, with insufficient follow-up on safety violations, placing toddlers at considerable risk.

The Comptroller urged the Education Ministry to actively locate unlicensed daycares, enforce licensing laws, collaborate with local authorities, and regularly assess the effectiveness of these measures. The report underscores ongoing risks to child safety due to regulatory gaps and enforcement failures in Israel’s daycare system.