Israeli Education Ministry Issues License Revocation Warnings to 31 Haredi Schools Over Core Curriculum Deficiencies
The Israeli Ministry of Education has issued license revocation warnings to 31 Haredi educational institutions after it was revealed they failed to teach core curriculum subjects, according to a first report by N12 on August 3, 2026. This action follows a legal petition filed by Yair Lapid and the Yesh Atid party challenging the transfer of one billion shekels to schools allegedly not meeting legal funding criteria.
The Ministry of Education defines five core subjects as essential: English, mathematics, science, Hebrew, and Bible studies. It considers schools compliant if they teach these subjects in at least some grade levels. Warnings were issued only to schools found to omit any core subject entirely across all grades. In contrast, the Ministry of Finance argues that 171 Haredi schools, representing about 32% of the sector, do not meet the core curriculum standards and should not receive funding. The Finance Ministry holds that schools failing to meet the basic program for grades one through eight are not legally teaching core subjects.
Following the warnings, school administrators met with the Haredi district of the Ministry of Education and committed to implementing a full core curriculum in the upcoming school year. This commitment includes agreeing to strict oversight and standardized testing (MIVT) to assess student proficiency. The Ministry of Education has granted these schools a second chance to comply and improve, while only three institutions that refused to commit will be reclassified as "exempt" schools, which receive reduced funding.
Knesset member Moshe Kinley-Tor-Paz, one of the petitioners, criticized the Ministry's approach, stating that while most corrective processes are positive, the Haredi schools have received excessive leniency. He highlighted that the Ministry allows a "special Haredi core curriculum" to be taught by unqualified teachers without budget cuts, and that schools are rarely penalized if they later retract their commitments.
This dispute exposes a significant disagreement between the Education and Finance Ministries over the enforcement of curriculum standards and funding legality in Haredi education, with ongoing legal and administrative implications.
