Nitzanim After-School Operators Petition Court Over Retroactive Debt Demands
Operators of after-school programs under the "Nitzanim" initiative have petitioned the court against the Ministry of Education's demand for millions in retroactive refunds, warning of imminent economic collapse.
A new legal petition filed by dozens of after-school program operators under the "Nitzanim" initiative reveals a severe financial dispute that threatens to shut down numerous facilities across the country. The operators petitioned the court following demands by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance for the retroactive refund of millions of shekels. According to the operators, this demand will lead to an economic collapse that will directly harm the work routines of hundreds of thousands of parents.
The "Nitzanim" program operates with subsidies and supervision from the Ministry of Education, which caps operators' operating profits at ten percent of total revenues. Over the years, faced with severe difficulties in recruiting staff, operators transferred budgetary surpluses from the food budget category to increase instructors' wages.
Retroactive Sanctions Threaten Frameworks
This practice was carried out within the framework of a public call for proposals published by the ministry, which regularly received and approved the operators' financial reports without any reservations. The turning point occurred during the 2020-2021 academic year, when the word "catering" was omitted from the list of items permitted for budget transfers, leaving only salary and pedagogical enrichment components.
Operators claim that no one alerted them to this regulatory change. Now, they are being asked to return funds retroactively, even though the money was invested directly into workers' salaries rather than pocketed by management.
"The Ministry of Education's decision threatens to collapse the after-school network, which enables hundreds of thousands of parents to go to work and sustains a vital part of the economy's routine," explains Yossi Zilberberg, co-CEO of the "After School" network.
Ministry Response and Financial Burden
According to Zilberberg, the ministry is retroactively demanding amounts that reach two to three times the total profits accumulated by operators over the years. Operators emphasize that the funds went entirely toward wages and were not kept as private profits.
In response, the Ministry of Education rejected the claims and stated that contractual engagements with operators are handled directly through local authorities. The ministry noted that final financial reconciliations were conducted transparently and in accordance with proper administrative procedures.
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