Conditions in the Beis Yaakov in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Yerushalayim are unacceptable to put it mildly with 1,850 students attending the school, which includes nine first grades.

Officials involved in chareidi education in the capital have been urging Jerusalem City Hall to build additional schools, pointing out the severe overcrowding in the chareidi sector. The askanim explain that City Hall refuses to open chareidi schools in nearby Kiryat Yovel, compelling the parents from the surrounding area to send their children to Bayit Vegan, which has become the catch basin for the entire area.

MyNet reports on the Beis Yaakov, citing conditions in the school are nothing short of dangerous, highlighting a single entrance/exit to the school for the close to 2,000 girls and teachers and administrators. The report explains that girls actually wait on line to enter the school every morning since that lone entrance must accommodate everyone.

It is also pointed out that Education Minister Naftali Bennett announced class size is being reduced, with the largest permitted class being 34 students. That said, the nine first grades in the Beis Yaakov has 35 girls in each class.

When contacted to comment, City Hall officials acknowledge the overcrowding, citing Mayor Nir Barkat visited the school about six months ago and following that visit, he expressed his determination to find a solution. School officials are unaware of anything that the mayor has done since then towards alleviating the severe overcrowding.

The PTA explains the city has not even allocated a budget for another security guard to permit opening another gate to the school to facilitate entry and exit. In fact, city officials have recommended that parents can volunteer and make a schedule to man a second gate themselves to alleviate the overcrowding.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)