The Education Ministry presents its case to the Knesset: “More funding needed to teach Zionism, Judaism, and democracy; to keep up with other countries; to improve achievements; and to reduce social gaps.”
A special Knesset Education Committee session began on Wednesday morning with an introduction by Education Minister Gideon Saar. After praising the fact that the school year will open next week without labor disputes, Saar said that, beginning in September 2010, a new educational subject would be taught in Grades 5-9: “Jewish Tradition and Culture.” Topics to be covered will include the bonds between the Jewish Nation and the Land of Israel, as well as leaders, symbols, and social and other values connected with Judaism and Zionism.
Minister Saar noted that one of his main goals this year is to “strengthen the public education network, both public and public-religious, and to stop the growth of the unofficial education frameworks, which is nothing more than publicly-funded private education. If the current trends continue, we will find ourselves in a few years with fewer students in the public schools than in private schools.”
The Education Ministry maintains that Israeli government funding for education, per student, is 25% less than the average in the 30 countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In addition, between 1995 and 2005, Israel increased its educational investment at a rate of 8%, compared with approximately 37% in the European Union.
The Ministry made a presentation detailing its two central goals for the 5770 (2009-10) school year: Strengthening values and improving scholastic achievements.
Specifically, the Education Ministry of the State of Israel strives to:
- fortify education towards Zionist, Jewish, democratic and social values
- promote excellence, improve achievements and quality of education, and reduce social gaps
- have the government recognize the educational budget as an investment and not as an expense
Among the values on which the Education Ministry wishes to concentrate are: Democracy and good citizenship; Jewish, Zionist and Israeli identity building; Jerusalem and the Jewish Nation; the importance of enlisting in the IDF or performing national service; and “zero tolerance” for violence in school.
Jerusalem, IDF, No Violence
To this end, a plan is in place to bring every student to Jerusalem on a class trip at least once: This year, 5th-graders will take part in the “Jerusalem is My Capital” educational program; grades 7 will take part in a Bar/Bat Mitzvah program in Jerusalem; and grades 10-11 will tour Jerusalem as part of an workshop entitled, “Jerusalem, Capital of Israel.”
Some 50 high schools with reduced rates of enlistment in the IDF will receive special programs on that topic, together with the Defense Ministry.
A “City Without Violence” program is currently being taught in some 90 schools in ten localities; the goal is to expand it to an additional 40 cities.
Improving Skills
In terms of scholastic achievement, Israel finished a disappointing 39th or 40th in science, reading and math, out of 57 countries. Some 10,000 weekly hours will be added to 3,370 3rd-grade classes to improve Hebrew language skills (Arabic, in Arab schools), and 25,000 weekly hours will be added to 7th-grade classes for math. Schools will also receive special guidance in teaching these subjects.
Schools whose students’ achievements improve will be rewarded financially, and the teachers will share in these benefits as well.
No Unexcused Absences
Another objective is to maximize the school hours for the benefit of frontal teaching. Specifically, efforts will be invested in reducing absences of both teachers and students, increasing the number of hours that actually “reach” the students, and the like.
Other goals include reducing educational gaps among various sectors, enhancing the teacher’s image, improving the quality of teaching, reinforcing the principal’s stature, revising the curriculum in accordance with changing realities, increasing the number of students in technological/industrial education, and more.