The Committee on Higher Education (CHE) headed by Education Minister Gideon Saar unanimously approved Tuesday steps designed to assist students who serve in the IDF reserves. The reservists are often called up to their units for long stretches in the middle of the study year and have difficulty making up lost material and missed tests.
Students who served in the reserves will be eligible for special examination dates. They will be allowed to repeat courses at no extra cost and will receive assistance in making up study material from classes that they missed because of their service.
“We are obligated to give as much assistance as possible to the students who serve the country's security in the IDF,” Saar said Tuesday. "The decision by the Higher Education Committee is a way of discharging our obligations toward the reservist students.”
The guidelines for the benefits to reservists were delineated by a committee headed by Professor Ezri Tarazi, an industrial designer and member of the CHE.
Israeli men usually do several weeks of reserve duty every year until about the age of 40. Officers in combat units usually serve longer periods of time than other soldiers. In recent years, the IDF and the Israeli government have decided to give greater recognition and assistance to the reservists.