Leaning is part of Israeli life and culture. The people of Israel love to learn, that’s why Israel has fully developed educational system. The education is exhaustively spreads in all Israeli cities and penetrates deep into rural areas. The government expenditures on education is 10% of the GDP. Education in Israel is state affairs. Children start attending Kindergarten schools at the age of two years. Kindergarten education is meant for three years. By the time a child attains 6 years of age primary education begins.
12 years of education is compulsory in Israel, this constitutes grades 1 – 6 of primary schools, grades 7 – 9 of intermediate school and grade 10 – 12 f secondary school.
Israel has four types of schools:
- State schools- a vast majority of pupil attends these schools.
- State religious schools – These schools provide focus on Jewish Studies, Tradition and Observance. Jewish Orthodox pupils attend these schools.
- Arab and Druz schools – these schools focus on Arab and Druz school, religion and culture. And
d) Private schools- these schools are administered by different organizations. Each has its own focus area.
Secondary education system in Israel prepares students to write Israeli Matriculation Examination - the "bhinot bagrut". These exams consist of multiple subjects. The difficulty level in each subject in a given examination is expressed in units of study for that particular subject from 1 to 5. For example - a 5-units exam in mathematics is significantly higher difficulty level than a 3-units exam in mathematics. Students are tested in subject areas like Hebrew language, English language, mathematics, scripture and literature as part of matriculation examination.
Normally after secondary education, students are conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but may request an extension of the conscription date to study at a pre-service Mechina, or in a college or university. The army funds the education at this stage. The students are bound by Israeli law to sign a contract for service of the army for 2 – 3 years. After service of Israeli forces students with matriculation degree may attend university classes.
Universities / Institutes of higher education in Israel generally require a certain amount of matriculation units (as well as a certain grade average) and a good grade in the "psychometric"aptitude/reasoning exam (similar to the American SAT). Students pay only the tuition fees towards university education; the government subsidizes the other expenses for higher education.