Education in Israel

Israeli schools are divided into four types: state, state-religious, religious ( haredim ) and Arab (sometimes Druze are sometimes not quite precisely classified; their number is very small). Most Israeli children attend public schools. Religious and state-religious schools, satisfying the needs of Orthodox Jewish youth, offer an intensive study of Jewish programs. Arabic schools teach in Arabic and pay great attention to the study of Arabic history, religion and culture. There are also a small number of bilingual schools where both Jewish and Arab children study, such as Gesher al Awadi, run by the Center for Jewish-Arabic Education “Holding Hands.”

The education system consists of three levels: primary education (grades 1-6, approximately 6-12 years old), secondary school (grades 7-9, approximately 12-15 years old) and high school (grades 10-12 , about 15-18 years). Compulsory education is from the oldest group of kindergarten (from 5 years old) to the 12th grade.

The school year in Israel begins on September 1 and ends in primary school on June 30, and in high school and high school on June 20.

Secondary education prepares students to pass the matriculation certificate (bagrut). They cover various academic disciplines, which are evaluated by increasing the volume of the studied material and complexity from 1 to 5 units. Students who receive a passing mark in compulsory subjects ( Hebrew , English , mathematics , Tanach and literature ), who passed exams with a total complexity of 21 units or more and at least one exam of 5th difficulty, receive a matriculation certificate. In 2007, 74.4% of Israeli twelfth graders took exams, and only 46.3% received a certificate. In Arab and Druze schools, the results were 35.6% and 43.7%, respectively.

The table below shows the number of students who passed the exams in the largest Israeli cities in 2002 (data from the Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel ). ^[3]

According to Adva Center, an Israeli analytical center for social problems, the result of approximately 15% of those who pass the exam does not meet the requirements of Israeli universities. ^[four]

In Israel, there are nine higher education institutions with university status and about 50 budget and private academic colleges with the right to assign academic degrees (most are only the first academic degree).

After reaching the age of majority, boys and girls are usually drafted into the Israel Defense Forces , but may request a deferment to take preparatory courses (mechins) . Within the framework of the academic reserve program ( atuda ), it is possible to obtain an academic degree before the start of the army service; For admission to the program, consent is required to undergo extra-long service for 3 (boys) or 2 (girls) years.

Universities usually require a certain number of points for bagrut and good performance in the psychometric entrance exam , which is very similar to the American SAT . All nine Israeli universities, as well as some colleges, are subsidized by the state (from 50% of expenses), and students pay only a small part of the real cost of tuition.

After receiving a bachelor's degree, a student, if the criteria are met, can continue to study until a master's degree, and then a doctor.

According to OECD data for 2015, the average graduation age for a first degree in Israel is 27 years, while 46% of adults in the country have an academic degree.

Tuition

As of 2011, the cost of studying at Israeli state universities is 9842 shekels (about $ 2,800) per year. Historically, the cost of studying at Israeli universities was low in the first decades of the existence of the state, but rose sharply in the 1980s and by 1998 became the largest among state universities in Western countries. In 1998, there were massive student unrest and protests against the high cost of education. The created state commission Eliyahu Vinograd decided to cut the cost of training by 2 times, but due to the economic crisis of the beginning of 2000, it was reduced by only a quarter, and has remained at that level since then. Tuition at private higher education institutions can reach 8 thousand dollars ^[5] .

For several years, the cutting of the state budget and non-payment of salaries to teachers played a role. Israel was among the leaders in training in the field of exact sciences in the 1960s , but fell to 33rd place out of 41 according to a survey in 2002 ^[6] . The salaries of Israeli teachers are very small compared to other developed countries according to a survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development . In the 1980s and 1990s, many teachers left the field of education for higher-paid jobs or went abroad, thus exacerbating the brain drain .

According to Webometrics, 6 Israeli universities are among the top 100 universities in Asia ^[7] . 4 are among the 150 best universities in the world according to the academic ranking of the world universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and 3 are included in the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings (that is, among the "200 best universities in the world").

In addition, Israeli universities are among the 100 best universities in the world for training in the following areas:

• Mathematics ( Tel Aviv University , Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Technion );
• Physics ( Tel Aviv University , Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Weizmann Institute , Technion );
• Chemistry ( Tel Aviv University , Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Technion );
• Informatics ( Tel Aviv University , Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Technion , Weizmann Institute , Bar-Ilan University ) ^[8] ;
• Engineering ( Technion ) ^[9] ;
• Life Sciences ( Hebrew University of Jerusalem ) ^[10] .

In the field of social sciences, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem universities are in the top 100 ^[11] . They are also among the top 100 in the economy ^[8] .

• Educational institutions in Israel (Russian)
• Universities and Colleges of Israel (Neopr.) . Jewish Agency website. Date of treatment July 1, 2014.