Gafni: Rabbis approve some secular subjects being taught in haredi schools
The overwhelming majority of ultra-Orthodox high-school aged pupils do not study core curriculum subjects such as math, English and science.
By JEREMY SHARONA HAREDI child reads from the Bible during a reading class at the Kehilot Ya’acov Torah School for boys in Jerusalem in 2010(photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS)
In what could be a major turning point for ultra-Orthodox education, senior United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni said that the senior rabbinic leadership of the haredi community has approved the study of “secular” subjects, such as Math, English and others, in elementary boys' schools.Gafni made his comments when asked recently about the frustration among a growing number of ultra-Orthodox parents with the lack of core curriculum subjects offered in haredi schools.The UTJ MK said he had spoken with the directors of the so-called “Independent Education” system of ultra-Orthodox elementary schools about the possibility of setting up new schools which would include secular studies.“The heads of the Independent Education system met with me last week and told me that in any place where a group of parents organizes to open a school in which there will be more secular studies than required, it will succeed in forming a school,” Gafni said.He implied that this decision was in accordance with authorization received from the rabbinic leadership of the ultra-Orthodox world.The overwhelming majority of haredi high-school pupils do not study core curriculum subjects such as Math, English and the sciences.Some of the ultra-Orthodox elementary schools do teach core curriculum studies, such as the Shas-run school network Maayan Hinuch Torani, but it is not thought to be at a high level, while the large majority of other ultra-Orthodox elementary school children get very little if any core curriculum studies.The lack of a core curriculum in the haredi sector for boys is one of the biggest restraints on the integration of men from the community into the work force, and on their earning capacity.It has been cited by numerous reports as one of the leading problems for the Israeli economy in the future.The Hiddush religious pluralism organization welcomed Gafni’s comments.
“After years of a determined struggle against the effort to condition state support for ultra-Orthodox schools on the teaching of core curriculum studies, it has become clear that the Council of Torah Sages has removed its opposition,” said Hiddush director Uri Regev.Regev said that other political parties should now make it clear before the upcoming election that state financial support will only be given to ultra-Orthodox schools that teach core curriculum studies, which will guarantee the possibility of young haredi men [being] in the work force without becoming a burden on the public purse.”
