Moves to Improve the Education of Israel’s Arab Population

Education Minister Zevulun Hammer began a series of meetings last week with a group of Knesset members, last week with a group of Knesset members, academicians and other experts, Jewish and Arab, to devise a policy aimed at improving the education of Israel’s Arab population. “The Arab education system should be conducted in a spirit. of loyalty to the country without causing the Arabs to lose their identity, ” Hammer told reporters today.

But one of his chief aides, Eliezer Shmueli, director general of the Education Ministry, blamed the shortcomings of Arab education primarily on Arab teachers and the Arab municipalities. “The main reason for the slow development of the educational system in the Arab sector was the failure of the Arab municipalities to establish education departments,” Shmueli claimed.

Hammer disclosed some of the problems that have been discussed at the meetings held in his office. One was the political factors that influence the appointment of Arab teachers. Often a good teacher is not accepted because of his political views, and vice versa. Another problem was the insufficient number of training programs for the Arab education system. It was pointed out that many teachers are farced in to the prates on for lack of other suitable jobs.

Finally, Hammer warned that if there is no change in the negative attitudes of the Jewish society to wand – the Arab society, the process of de-Israelization of the younger Arab population will be accelerated.

Shmueli said that a close look at the Arab sector would show that on Arab ‘teacher, to be accepted by his own society, must emphasize the negative aspects of the education’ system. He said that the teachers should have the courage to point to the great progress already achieved in Arab education. He noted that despite the manpower freeze, additional Arab inspectors have been appointed and despite budget cuts, the Ministry doubled its development budget for Arab schools.