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Netanyahu: Science Studies for the Chareidim as Well
At the "Globes" Israel Business Conference forum on education today in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, "We are in trouble" with regard to the state of education in Israel. He called for the chareidim to learn more science and technology subjects. Education Minister Gidon Sa'ar called for an immediate strengthening of the education system.
Netanyahu called for all students in Israel to be provided with the tools they will need to cope in the modern economic market, and emphasized that the chareidi and Arab sectors need to be taught more science and technology subjects.
"We need to focus on science and technology subjects, that enable the general population of Israel to integrate in the work force. They need basic knowledge in the subjects of computer science, language, and written expression. They need to know how to access knowledge," said Netanyahu.
Before Netanyahu spoke, Education Minister Gidon Sa'ar took the podium. He called for an immediate strengthening of the education system. "The educational crisis is deep and all encompassing," he said. The minister spoke about parents who have the financial means to invest in their childrens' education, opposite parents who do not have those means. "Parents who have money invest more, and the local municipalities invest according to their abilities – those parameters increase the educational gaps in the system, which eventually lead to social gaps."
According to Sa'ar, Israel invests less in education that other modern countries in the world – and not only the rich countries were mentioned, such as Great Britain and the United States. Countries in eastern Europe, that are less financially established, also invest more in education than Israel. "The scientific and research achievements of this generation are a direct result of investment in education," said the Education Minister.
The Minister of Education presented the depressing figures, which prove that Israel invests significantly less in its students – from kindergarten to the end of high school – than most other developed countries in the OECD.
"For example, the annual investment in an elementary school student per year in Israel $3,900 dollars. The average amount invested is $5,200 dollars, in Great Britain the amount invested is $7,000 dollars, and in the United States, $9,000," said Sa'ar.
Sa'ar emphasized that when looking at certain parameters, there are eastern European countries such as Poland, and the Czech and Slovak Republics, that invest more in their students than Israel. Sa'ar said that the most worrying data is the failure of Israel to increase its spending per student between the years 2000 and 2006. The general increase in spending among the OECD countries averaged 24%, while Israel only increased the education budget by 5% over the course of those 6 years.