OECD Report Shows Israeli Education Gaps, but also Greater Investment in Schools
Source: Times of Israel
A new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released Tuesday shows several significant gaps in Israel’s investment in the education system compared to other member countries, though it also highlights positive trends and apparent recognition by the state of the issue’s importance.
The OECD’s annual Education at a Glance report — which is mostly based on data up to 2015 — shows Israel’s spending per student to be lower than average across the board, with the state’s investment totaling $8,000 a year at elementary and high school levels (compared to $8,500 and $9,900 on average) and $11,000 at the tertiary level (compared to $15,500).
Spending on education at ages 0-3 is at a mere 20 percent of the average among OECD nations, at $2,713 a year compared to $12,400. The disparity is at least partly due to the fact that only a quarter of Israeli children at this age attend publicly subsidized daycare centers, while others are either at private institutions or at home.
However, the report states, Israel substantially increased its public investment in early childhood education and care in 2004-2015, a time period in which “public spending on pre-primary education increased by 12 percentage points in Israel compared to 5 percentage points on average across OECD countries.”
In 2010-2015, spending “on primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary educational institutions increased by 35% compared to 4% on average across OECD countries.”
The report also notes that Israel spends more than average on education out of its gross domestic product (GDP), at 6% compared to 5%.
Read more at the Times of Israel.