European Union Committee on Education

March 28, 2018

As you are aware we have three priorities when it comes to the education of countries. My report today

is to establish how well Israel is doing with each of these three priorities which are as follows, one: Put

Every Child in School, two: improve the quality of learning, and three: Foster Global Citizenship. Israel is

a fantastic country, they have such a rich history and an exciting and optimistic future ahead of them.

This could not be truer and more exemplary than in their education of their citizens.

To give a general overview of education in Israel. Education in Israel takes what some may call a western

approach, meaning school begins with primary education around age six and continues into

intermediate education at around age twelve and then into secondary education around ages fourteen

to eighteen. Education for these students between ages six and eighteen is free and is mandatory. Israel

has many different facilities that help educate their students. These facilities are state sponsored,

religious, and or private. The curriculum comes from the Ministry of Education and has, “aim of

enhancing pupils' understanding of their society” (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2018).

Israel is an excellent example of achieving the UN’s Global Education Initiative. The first initiative: Put

Every Child in School, has been more than achieved in Israel. Attending school in Israel is mandatory

between the ages of six and eighteen, this is to help achieve this UN initiative, but also to help young

students to give them the best start and chance at higher education. Although School is mandatory in

Israel, students are not mandated on which school to go to. There is a plethora of religious schools, state

sponsored and otherwise, that students can attend. Recently as well parents have been concerned

about the teaching of their children and have started private schools surrounded by their ethical and

philosophical approaches to education. If these schools reach the aim of the Ministry of Education

Israeli’s are able to attend at their discretion.

The second initiative: Improve the quality of learning, has been an area of excellence for Israel as well.

According to the World Bank, Israel has spent 14.282% of its total income on education in 2014 (World

Bank Report, 2014). That number is up since its first report in 2000. This increase in funding has led to

Israel being able to purchase and use more resources in their schools and outside their classrooms. The

education facilities in Israel have been surprisingly new. They integrate technology into their classrooms

and this has led to the STEM field being very popular in Israel, even allowing the tech industry to boom

in Israel, giving a well needed boost to the economy and allowing companies like apple and google to

open up offices and locations in Israel.

The third initiative: Foster Global Citizenship is an area that I would say Israel needs improvement on.

Israel has this worry about losing pieces of their old society and culture that looking to the global

community and investing in a relationship therein is almost seen as a bad thing and that an Israeli

student would better spend their time studying and learning Hebrew and of the History of the Israeli

people. These things are not a bad thing and have added to Israel deep and rich cultural society. Israel

just needs a little more help in this area.

References

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2018), EDUCATION: Primary and Secondary, Accessed on: 28 March

2018 from http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/education/pages/education-

%20primary%20and%20secondary.aspx

World Bank Data Reports: Israel, (2014). Accessed on March 28, 2018 at

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GB.ZS?locations=IL&view=chart