Or Akiva Parents Outraged as 39 First-Graders Placed in Single Class

Parents in Or Akiva are expressing outrage after the Ministry of Education assigned 39 first-grade students to a single classroom in a local state-religious elementary school. The incident highlights ongoing concerns over classroom crowding and teacher shortages across Israel.

Overcrowded Classrooms and Low Test Scores

The controversy follows the recent release of elementary school achievement test results, which revealed that 50% of sixth-graders struggle in English and 40% fall behind in mathematics. Experts attribute these sobering figures partly to severe teacher shortages and Israel's notoriously high classroom densities, which rank among the highest in the developed world.

In the new neighborhood of Or Yam in Or Akiva, parents of incoming first-graders say they were explicitly promised during registration that any grade level exceeding 30 students would be split into two classes. However, despite having 39 children enrolled, the ministry refused to approve a second standard classroom.

"This is an absurd and unreasonable situation. Families chose this school based on the clear promise that two classes would be opened if there were over 30 children," said one parent, identified as Sh.

Ministry Response and Budget Constraints

The Ministry of Education offered a partial solution involving additional teaching hours for small-group learning, but parents report that even this measure is not being properly implemented due to budgetary restrictions on instructional hours.

In response, the Ministry of Education stated that under current regulations, 39 students do not meet the threshold required to fund a second first-grade class.

"As long as the number of students in the grade reaches 40 by the finalization of staffing in late September, and in accordance with standard regulations, approval may be granted to open an additional class," the ministry announced, adding that extra teaching hours have been allocated for core subjects.