More than 400 haredi Jews gathered in London to voice their opposition to plans that would mandate state registration for home-schooled students. The demonstration

took place outside the Department of Education headquarters while Conservative parliamentarian Flick Drummonds presented the bill in the House of Commons, calling for compulsory registers of children educated outside conventional schools in England and Wales.

The protesters denounced the proposed legislation as "repressive" and argued that it would significantly impinge upon their way of life. Rabbi Asher Gratt, a co-organizer of the protest and a respected community activist involved in religious and educational causes for five decades, highlighted the importance of parental rights and stated, "Parents have the right to stand up and say, 'Enough is enough.' Parents know what is best for their children. They don't need others telling them what to do."

Rabbi Gratt further expressed concerns about the potential consequences of listing children and disregarding their individuality, questioning how the UK could expect to maintain its leadership in innovation and entrepreneurship if the government imposed uniformity. He clarified that while British law mandates education for children, it does not restrict it to traditional school settings.

The protest reflects the deep-seated beliefs within the Orthodox Jewish community regarding the right to choose the educational path for their children, emphasizing the importance of preserving their religious and cultural values. Photo by Sebastiandoe5, Wikimedia commons.