Jill Duggar’s husband, Derick Dillard, claims she and her siblings didn’t receive a proper education after the SEVENTH GRADE — because Jim Bob and Michelle felt the family’s TLC reality series was more “important.”

Jill Duggar’s husband, Derick, claimed she and her siblings didn’t receive much of an education due to their reality TV commitments.

According to Derick (34), parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar felt filming the family’s TLC shows 19 Kids And Counting and Counting On was more important than furthering their academic studies.

Derick claims that Jill (32) and her 18 siblings never really had ‘much education past the seventh grade’.

“A lot of it was due to the show taking over,” he said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“It was like, ‘Well, if the show requires most of the filming hours during the weekday, then school isn’t really that important,'” he added.

The children were homeschooled by their parents, Michelle (centre in green shirt) and Jim Bob (far right)

Jim Bob, 58, and Michelle, 57, homeschooled their children using the controversial Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) curriculum, the ultra-conservative Christian ministry they were a part of.

When Jill was asked if she felt her siblings were ‘deprived’ of an education, the Counting The Cost writer replied ‘yes’ and agreed that filming was a priority.

“I took some college classes. I got my midwifery certificates. I am currently inactive on my status,” Jill continued.

‘But I do think that the show took priority in many areas of our lives.

“Yeah, there were big parts to it,” she continued.

“But there were also very difficult parts that I wouldn’t choose if I had to go back and I actually had a choice.”

The TV star-turned-author agreed that the education of children who have appeared on reality shows should be protected and that networks should be more involved in making sure children go to school.

“I can’t say that kids should never be involved in reality TV because I think parents should have a say,” she explained.

In 2015, it was released that Josh Duggar was connected to the molestation of five girls – including his sisters, Jill and Jessa

Jill and Derick were interviewed in the Amazon docs, Shiny Happy People, about the Duggar family and their religious beliefs

Jim Bob (57) and Michelle (56) rose to fame with their many children through the TLC series 19 And Counting, which aired from 2008 to 2015.

“But I think networks need to have more accountability in place to make sure kids are protected, and that they get the education they need.”

Jill added that she thinks networks should ensure that the TV show doesn’t take priority over education, and “(the child’s) rights are not violated.”

“There were very vulnerable moments, as I point out in the book, where I wished I didn’t have to be on reality TV, but I had to,” she admitted.

The Duggars’ wholesome Christian public image came crashing down in 2015 after it was revealed that their eldest child, now 35-year-old Josh, groped one of his sisters and an underage babysitter as a teenager in the early years .

A docu-series released in June, Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, delved into the family’s past and compared Jim Bob to a ‘cult leader’ who acted in accordance with IBLP’s credo, which sees men as ‘head of the house’ considered.

Jill opened up about her strained relationship with her father in her explosive memoir Counting The Cost

Josh Duggar (pictured) was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison earlier this year on charges of child pornography

Jill, who released a bombshell memoir Counting The Cost earlier in September, detailed some of the controversies the family was involved in, as well as her contentious relationship with her father.

She also claimed her father treated her convicted sex offender sibling, Josh, better than she did.

Jill said the comment came when she and husband Derick, 34, confronted Jim Bob about money, as they felt they weren’t being properly compensated for their contributions to the family’s one-time TLC hit 19 Kids And Counting .

Her older brother, Josh, who molested Jill and four other girls years earlier, is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence in connection with his 2021 conviction for downloading and possessing child sexual abuse images.