Israeli Education Ministry cancels Hebrew language program for Arab schools

A Hebrew lesson in an Arab high school

Lior Dattel reports in Haaretz on 22 August 2023:

The Israeli Education Ministry is freezing a Hebrew proficiency program for Arab students citing a lack of funding, Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported on Monday.

Following the ministry’s decision, employment of the program’s staff was suspended, and they are expected to be summoned to a pre-dismissal hearing.

The Ivritana Hebrew proficiency program is taught in schools by the Center for Educational Technology. The program helped high school students from Israel’s Arab society to practice Hebrew through an online meeting with Hebrew-speaking tutors and interactive means for matriculation (Bagrut) exams in Hebrew. Last year, about 3,500 middle school students studied in the program.

The education system in Israel’s Arab communities faces severe difficulties when it comes to the study of the Hebrew language. The lack of Hebrew proficiency makes it difficult for graduates to integrate into society and find employment.

According to the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics for 2020, only 31 percent of Arab citizens reported that they mastered speaking Hebrew at a very good level and 47 percent reported that they mastered the language at an intermediate and beginner level. The low proficiency in Hebrew also affects the Arab students’ success rates in the matriculation exams.

The Education Ministry issued a statement denying cancelling any program, saying that “Education Minister Yoav Kisch defined the study of spoken Hebrew as a main goal for the Arab society so Arab students will be able to find their way into the job market. The Ministry promotes significant programs on the subject and no curriculum has been canceled due to lack of budgeting.”

This is not the first educational program to suffer from insufficient funding. The ministry also halted a planned expansion of English language teaching after failing to find a budgetary source.

The ministry significantly cut its flagship program to encourage the study of five units in math – the highest level taught in high schools. The program’s status will be reduced from a mandatory national program to one school principals can choose to implement in schools.

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