Israel's Education Ministry is disqualifying yeshivas which use distance learning for students who cannot attend in-person due to the country's COVID-19 policies.
According to the Education Ministry, since the students do not attend in-person classes, they are not considered present at the yeshiva.
In a parliamentary question asked by MK Uri Maklev (United Torah Judaism) of Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton (New Hope), Maklev said, "In accordance with the existing guidelines which you, the Minister, set down, yeshiva students may take part in distance learning."
"However, in practice, there are supervisory visits to the yeshivas which have said that they take part in the distance learning program, but which were disqualified due to low attendance rates."
"We request to employ distance learning by means of an organized program, but the supervisory visits in practice disqualify these institutions," he said. "I suggest that you instruct your supervisory branch, led by Amos Ziadeh stop disqualifying these institutions."
Shasha-Biton responded that the issue will be investigated, and that this was a demand which came from the public and which she approved.
"I approved it in order to equate the conditions of the yeshivas to those in other academic institutions," she said. "We will investigate if any were disqualified based on this issue, and if so, that will be fixed."