The Education Ministry is easing inspections and penalties of yeshivos in the coming days. Officials point out that the stepped-up inspections precede this administration, implemented by former Finance Minister Dr. Yuval Steinitz, hence known as the “Finance Minister’s Regulations”.
Those regulations stated that if two inspections are conducted and 15% of a yeshiva is absent, sanctions would be leveled against that yeshiva. The sanctions would compel the yeshiva to return state funding for those students retroactively for one year. If on two additional inspections 5% of the same talmidim are absent, the yeshiva will have to refund the funding for these talmidim 3 years retroactively.
Minister of Education Rabbi Shai Piron plans to relax some of the restrictions implemented by Steinitz. The new regulation will not include ‘excused absences’ in the count of missing talmidim during an inspection. A number of categories of excused absences will exist, including documented illness and even an absence that is not listed among the official categories may be accepted if it is deemed as logical to the inspectors.
In addition, the fine levied against a yeshiva will only compel returning funding retroactively for six months, not a year. In the event of a repeated offense, the fine will be 18 months retroactive funding and not three years.
The ministry explains that while it remains determined to weed out the fraudulent talmidim, it does not seek to punish yeshivos or talmidim as a result of legitimate documented absenses as was the case in the past.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
If they won’t return state funding for students retroactively will they jail all students together with their heads, leaders, rebbes and roshei yeshivos?
With all their sanctions against chareidim they should start building more prisons or at least release all arabs to make more room for those black-hatters.