Education system in Israel received twice as in OECD countries but achievements are lower

The rate of population growth in Israel is harming the attempt to improve the education system. Between 2012 and 2019, the budget of the Ministry of Education increased by 67%, but the increase in the number of students eroded the increase, so that the budget per student increased by only 21%. This is according to the annual education report of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published today (Monday) and referring to the 2019 budget data.

The education system in Israel nevertheless received a significant budget increase, almost twice as large as the increase in the average investment per student in OECD countries, which was 11% in the years reviewed. However, the increase in the budget did not particularly benefit the students' achievements or the status of the teachers, nor did it contribute to reducing the gaps between the students.
The report also highlights the particularly bad situation with regard to early childhood education (ages 0-3) in Israel. Israel continues to neglect these age groups, and huge gaps are evident between the investment accepted in children in developed countries and the extremely low investment in Israel.
The population growth in the student class in Israel is the largest than in all OECD countries, with the exception of Sweden (it is not about the birth rate but the increase in the number of students, and Sweden is dealing with significant waves of immigration). The average annual growth rate in the student population in the years 2012-2019 amounted to 2% per year, while in the countries of the organization it was only 0.1%, and in some it was negative.
As a result, despite an addition of NIS 26 billion to the education system in those years, other countries - whose population growth was moderate - increased their budgets per student at a higher rate.
The organization's report refers to the public investment in students, which includes the budget of the Ministry of Education, the budget of the local authorities and parents' payments.
This year, responsibility for preschool was transferred to the Ministry of Education, along with an additional budget of approximately NIS 200 million, but billions of NIS are needed to reduce the investment gap in this area between Israel and the developed countries.
The growth rate of Israel's population makes the attempt to reduce the investment gap between the developed countries and Israel impossible.
If Israel wanted to reduce the investment per student, from preschool to the academy, to that accepted in the countries of the organization, it would have to increase it by at least NIS 30 billion
The education budget in Israel this year amounts to about NIS 67 billion, but according to OECD data, if Israel wanted to reduce the investment per student, from preschool to the academy, to that accepted in the organization's countries, it would have to increase it by at least NIS 30 billion. Increasing the budget by approximately NIS 50 billion would have made it possible to provide free education according to the investment accepted in OECD countries for all preschool children (ages 0-3).
The problems in the education system in Israel are reflected in additional indicators: the outdated study programs that are not adapted to the skills tested in the international tests; lack of autonomy for teachers and administrators; issues of the quality of teachers and their status; and the overcrowding in the classrooms. In each of these aspects, Israel faces significant challenges that have not been resolved, despite the large budget additions to the education system.
Sheral invests in the elementary schools on average per student per year just as Estonia, whose education system is considered one of the leading in the world, invests in its students ($9,450 in Israel compared to $9,400 in Estonia). Also, Israel invests slightly more in primary school education than Japan ($9,400), France ($9,300), and Poland ($8,900), which achieve high scores in international tests.
There is also a small gap between Israel and other countries that are considered leaders in education, such as Finland ($10,500), Canada ($10,600), and the Netherlands ($10,150).
The increase in budgets per student in the elementary schools in Israel (21%) were also higher than in leading countries such as Finland (3%), France (4%) or Canada (5%).
And yet, in the PISA tests conducted in 2018, Israel came in 42nd place in science (which is the lowest since it began participating in the tests), 41st place in mathematics and 37th place in language. This, while the other mentioned countries were ranked far ahead of her.
Just before the start of the school year, the state signed an agreement to provide salary increases to teachers in elementary and middle schools. This is after a long struggle led by the teachers union.
During the negotiations, the state relied on international comparisons that were updated in 2020, while now the OECD is publishing more updated data regarding teacher salaries for 2021. The new data shows that even before the signing of the new salary increases in 2010-2021, teacher salaries in Israel jumped by the second rate The largest among the developed countries: a rate of 27% compared to an increase of only 5% in the countries of the organization (only in Slovakia did teachers' salaries increase by a greater rate of 34%).
In Israel, there are large salary gaps between veteran teachers and beginners, and the latter have benefited from lower salary increases.

In Israel, there was a 130% wage gap between the wages of veteran teachers and the wages of new teachers, while on average in the OECD the gap is about 65%

According to the OECD, in 2021 there was a 35% gap between the average salary of a beginning teacher in elementary schools in Israel, and the average salary of a teacher with similar seniority in the organization's countries. Even with 15 years of service, there is a 30% gap between the salary of an elementary school teacher in Israel, and the average salary in the countries of the organization.

However, at the peak of seniority, towards retirement age, the gap between the salary of primary school teachers and the standard salary in the countries of the organization is reduced to only 8.5%.
In total, in Israel there was a 130% salary gap between the salary of veteran teachers and the salary of new teachers, while on average in the OECD the gap is about 65%.
In the salary agreement signed between the state and the teachers' union before the start of the school year, some attempt was made to reduce these salary gaps, and it was determined that the starting salary of a teacher will increase from approximately NIS 5,500 to approximately NIS 6,300 (for a 70% position), and to NIS 9,000 for a full-time position. Also, wage increases of at least NIS 1,100 were given to all other seniority levels. The full agreement has not yet been signed and the salary increases have not been granted to the teachers.
In 2019, classrooms in Israel remained the most crowded in OECD countries. Israel has an average of 27 students per class in elementary schools compared to the average of 21 in the organization's countries.