The number of Israeli schoolchildren will increase to 1.74 million in 20129, 182,000 more than in 2012, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. The number of schoolchildren in the Hebrew education system will grow by 12%, and the number of schoolchildren in the Arab education system will grow by 10%, or 40,000 pupils.
Belying fear-mongering about the increased proportion of Arab pupils, the Central Bureau of Statistics says that the proportion of Jewish schoolchildren will rise from 73% in 2012 to 74% in 2019, and that the proportion of Arab schoolchildren will decline from 27% to 26%.
Within the Jewish community, the Central Bureau of Statistics data show a different picture from conventional wisdom, indicating changes resembling the expected change in the Arab community. The annual growth rate of haredi (ultra-orthodox) children is forecast to slow: from an average annual growth rate of 4.7% in primary education in 2001-12 to 3.6% a year in 2013-19; and from an average annual growth rate of 4% in secondary education to 2.3%. The growth rate of schoolchildren in the state school and religious state school systems is projected to pick up in 2013-19, compared with 2001-12: from 0.34% a year in 2001-12 to 1.43% in primary education; and from minus 0.81% a year in 2001-12 to plus 0.1% in 2013-19 in secondary education.
The proportion of haredi schoolchildren is projected to rise from 21% of all Jewish primary school children in 2001 to 31% in 2019, and in secondary education from 16% to 26%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 6, 2013
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