Education Ministry Data Reveals 25-Fold Budget Gaps Per Student

New data from Israel's Ministry of Education for the 2024-2025 school year reveals vast disparities in per-student funding, ranging from approximately 3,750 shekels to over 96,000 shekels. While the national average investment per student is around 21,300 shekels in elementary school, 27,900 shekels in middle school, and 36,300 shekels in high school, these averages mask extreme differences. The largest gaps are observed in high school, where some students receive over 25 times more funding than others. For instance, a Talmud Torah school in Bnei Brak receives only about 3,750 shekels per student, while a top-tier high school receives more than 96,000 shekels.

The data highlights significant differences between educational streams. In high school, the state-religious sector averages about 49,300 shekels per student, 25% more than the state sector's 39,300 shekels, and more than the state-Arab sector's 37,300 shekels. The gap between state-religious and state schools remained largely unchanged from the previous year, while the gap with the Arab sector narrowed slightly. A concentration of state-religious institutions appears at the top of the funding list, with "Atid Dvir" high school in Beit Shemesh leading at approximately 96,400 shekels per student. Fourteen of the top 20 highest-funded high schools belong to the state-religious stream.

At the elementary level, "Gvanim" state school in Kiryat Arba leads with about 71,600 shekels per student, more than triple the average. This high per-student cost is attributed to small class sizes, averaging around seven students. The fundamental principle of education budgeting is that most costs are teacher salaries, largely determined by the number of teaching hours per class. A small class requires nearly the same hours as a large one, significantly increasing the per-student cost.

Additional funding disparities exist between regions. The southern district averages about 24,200 shekels per elementary student, compared to 19,000 shekels in Jerusalem, a nearly 28% difference. In high school, the northern district leads with 43,800 shekels per student, while Jerusalem has 30,600 shekels. Part of Jerusalem's lower funding is explained by a high proportion of partially supervised Haredi institutions receiving less funding. At the bottom of the list are exempt Talmud Torahs in Bnei Brak, receiving 3,750 to 4,300 shekels per student annually. These institutions do not teach the full core curriculum and thus receive less government funding, relying on tuition, donations, and other support.

The Ministry of Education states that higher investment does not guarantee better academic achievements, and research on the matter is inconclusive. While smaller classes and additional teaching hours may benefit weaker students, the impact depends heavily on teaching quality. For the state, education is the largest item in the civilian budget, making any changes to funding formulas significant, potentially amounting to billions of shekels. Parents can access this data on the Ministry of Education's transparency website to compare per-student budgets, class sizes, and dropout rates across schools.