Israel Boosts Per-Student Funding in West Bank Settlements at Expense of Northern and Southern Schools
Translated & summarized from N12 by baba
Israel's Ministry of Education has increased per-student funding for high schools in Judea and Samaria by an average of 1,213 shekels, while cutting funding by 570 shekels in the north and 232 shekels in the south. This shift, driven by an expanded "security track" for supplementary budgets, disproportionately benefits settlements. The changes also led to a significant increase in funding for State-Religious students compared to others. The Ministry stated the funding aims to help schools in complex locations offer diverse programs.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Per-student funding in West Bank settlements increased by over 1,200 shekels due to a Ministry of Education policy change.
- Schools in northern Israel saw a per-student funding cut of 570 shekels, while southern schools lost 232 shekels.
- The "security track" for supplementary budgets was expanded, adding 33 locations, many in Judea and Samaria.
- The increased allocation to the security track reduced funds available for other schools as the total budget remained constant.
- State-Religious students received significantly more supplementary funding per student than General State students.
- Settlements in the expanded security track were exempted from population size caps, allowing Haredi cities to benefit.
A recent policy change by the Ministry of Education has significantly increased per-student funding for high schools in Judea and Samaria, while simultaneously reducing it for students in the north and south of Israel. This shift, detailed by the Manar Policy Center, has led to an average increase of over 1,200 shekels per student in settlements.
The change originated from a directive issued about 18 months ago that expanded the criteria for the "security track," which provides supplementary budgets to schools facing geographical or security challenges. This expansion added 33 new locations, many of them in Judea and Samaria, to the track. Consequently, the proportion of schools receiving this supplementary funding that are in the security track rose from 3% to 26% of all recipients.
As the total budget for this supplementary funding remained unchanged, the increased allocation to the security track meant less money was available for other schools. According to Manar's analysis, this resulted in a per-student funding decrease of 570 shekels in the north and 232 shekels in the south. The report highlights that the security track offers the highest supplementary rate, irrespective of student numbers or distance from the country's center.
The reallocation also disproportionately affected different educational streams. While per-student supplementary funding increased in the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) and State-Religious sectors, it decreased in the General State and Arab State sectors. Specifically, the State-Religious sector saw its per-student supplementary budget become more than triple that of the General State sector.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Education exempted settlements included in the security track from a cap on local population size that applies to other communities. This exemption allowed educational institutions in the Haredi cities of Modi'in Illit and Beitar Illit to become eligible for the supplementary funding. Manar noted that the directive did not specify the security or pedagogical reasons for these changes, nor did it reflect significant alterations in the security situations of most affected institutions.
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