Ethiopian students in Petah Tikva
Photo: Zvika Tishler
16 Ethiopian students still out of school due to mix-up
Despite agreement reached with Petah Tikva schools initially refusing to admit students of Ethiopian descent, bureaucratic mix-up leaves 16 with no placement. Education Ministry says problem to be resolved within two days
Despite the agreement reached for the placement of 108 students of Ethiopian descent in state-religious schools in Petah Tikva, which allowed part of them to start school on Tuesday, it became apparent Wednesday morning that there were still 16 pupils with no placement.
According to Education Ministry data, the 16 first graders faced "admission difficulties" in the city's schools. Five of the students in question were slated to be placed in three haredi private schools according the agreement, another five were meant to be accepted into Shas schools and the remaining six were registered to state-religious school.
It should be noted that there is much confusion in the matter, and different sources have presented different data on the number of students yet to be placed. According to municipality sources, the number of students still in need of placement is over 20.
The ministry stressed that the problem was not a matter of the schools' refusal to admit the pupils, but that the delay stemmed from an administrative mix-up due to discrepancies between the municipality, the Education Ministry, and the schools' lists of pupils.
The ministry said the problem should be resolved within a day or two, and that ministry workers were in constant contact with the municipality to ensure that the students are admitted in full.
According to the agreement that was reached with the three private institutions that initially refused to take in the Ethiopian students, 20 pupils began school on Tuesday, and another 28 will be admitted in the coming weeks immediately upon their arrive in the city.
It was decided that the students will be admitted according to the municipality's records, without any screening.
Raanan Ben-Zur contributed to this report
