Survey: 6% rise in Israelis unable to fund their children's studies

The survey also found that about 19% even made the decision to postpone academic studies at this time because of the financial difficulty caused by the crisis.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
(photo credit: Courtesy)
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Enrollment for the upcoming school year has opened in all academic institutions. A new survey conducted by the Israel Scholarship Education Foundation (ISEF) this week reveals that over half of Israelis (54%) believe that they will not be able to fund their children's academic studies, and 60% of them relate to the Corona crisis. This is a 6% increase compared to a similar survey conducted last year in which 48% of Israelis replied that they did not finance school for their children. The survey also found that about 19% even made the decision to postpone academic studies at this time because of the financial difficulty caused by the crisis. The data is even more severe among the weaker strata.

This and other data come from a survey conducted by the Geocartography Institute this week, for the ISEF Foundation,  which has been focusing for 43 years on reducing gaps in education and developing social and academic leadership among outstanding young people from the periphery.

The survey reveals that the figures for the poorest economically disadvantaged are even more pronounced, with a 10% increase over last year, and close to 70% of those earning below average rates say they cannot fund high schooling for their children. Among the Arab public, there is more difficulty in funding studies - 67% of respondents who said they could not fund the Arab sector, compared with 52% of the Jewish sector who responded. In addition, 73% of Arab respondents attributed the difficulty to the Corona crisis and 26% even decided to postpone their studies for the next year. This compares with 57% of the Jewish public who associate with the crisis inability and 17% who decide to reject.

"The data from the annual ISEF survey should deeply disturb the Minister of Education and Council of Higher Education, especially in light of the Corona crisis we are experiencing." Says Tomer Samarkandi - Executive Director - ISEF Foundation: "If the OECD data shows that in Israel, the level of mobility in higher education has dropped by 22% in 30 years and that the chance of a non-academic parents attending a higher education is 7 times that of A parent of higher education, this survey shows that the Corona crisis is likely to increase this gap even more. Unfortunately, we see the immediate consequences among the students we are currently accompanying: in a study we conducted with them, 78% were fired or expelled to the US, 53% were fired or expelled to one or both parents, and about a quarter reported That are in financial distress. The Corona crisis, which has affected Israeli society as a whole, has hit the periphery and the economically weaker strata even more. If no systemic action is taken now, we are likely to see a wave of student dropouts from the academy and an extreme minority enroll for next year."