Study Questions Haredi Enrollment Data; Ministry Says Changes Do Not Prove Errors

An Israel Hofsheet study of Education Ministry records has questioned changes in reported enrollment among Haredi boys, comparing cohorts across school years and boys with girls. The analysis covered 208,000 boys in grades 1–11 and raised concerns about reporting patterns, without establishing that records were false. The ministry said enrollment changes alone do not demonstrate inaccurate reporting, citing transfers between institutions and supervision categories and differences in counting school years. It said it conducts ongoing checks, has tightened controls on repeating or skipping grades, and will withhold funding for unauthorized repeated grades from the 5787 school year.