Independent Education System (Israel)
The Independent Education System of Israel is an alternate school system run by, and serving the needs of, the Haredi Jewish community of Israel.
It was established in 1953 by a decision of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, and implemented through the State Education law. It was initially led by Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin, and now is run by an umbrella center that operates a large network of schools,
kindergarten through high school, gender-separated, throughout the country.
By 1978, there were 300 of these schools in Israel; by 2003, that number had grown to 800.
Overview
The diverse nature of Israel's society is accommodated within the framework of the Israeli education systems. Different sectors of the population attend different schools. Although parents are comforted by the fact that their children's school may reflect their basic worldview, this separation often results in little contact among the various segments of Israeli society.Schools are divided into five groups:
- State schools, attended by a majority of the pupils;
- State religious schools, which emphasize Jewish religious studies, tradition, and observance;
- Independent religious schools, which focus almost entirely on Talmud Torah and offer little in terms of secular subjects, at least for the boys;
- Private schools, which reflect the philosophies of specific groups of parents or are based on a curriculum of a foreign country ; and lastly,
- Arab schools, with instruction in Arabic and a focus on Arab history, religions, and culture.
Funding and operation
The schools are partially supported by the State; however, the Ministry of Education is not responsible for the hiring and firing of teachers or for the registration of pupils.Schools in the Chinuch Atzmai system are allocated 55% of the budget that regular state schools receive, and are required to teach 55% of the Ministry of Education's curriculum. Chinuch Atzmai's funding has traditionally been supplemented by donations from outside Israel, particularly the United States. Rabbi Aharon Kotler, one of the movement's founders, was extremely instrumental in fund-raising for the organization. Due to sharp cuts in state funding over recent years, the movement has had to redouble its efforts in order to keep schools from closing.
A pressing issue is the transportation of pupils from peripheral towns to schools. Unlike schools sponsored by the Ministry of Education, a Supreme Court ruling has cut the funding of transportation to independent schools. To solve this problem, the "Transportation Fund" was founded in 2006. The Transportation Fund funds transportation of pupils to schools, so that they would enroll in independent religious schools rather than state-run secular schools.