Another academic year begins amidst the backdrop of conflict: the audit reports and complaints reviewed by the Ombudsman reveal the numerous challenges faced by Israeli students in recent years – in the wake of the COVID pandemic and the Swords of Iron War
This is it; the long summer recess is over – and the new school year is now underway. In recent years, our children have navigated an intricate reality that has adversely affected their academic engagement.
Consider the experiences of Israeli children over the past five years: they have endured the impacts of the COVID pandemic, which necessitated adaptation to remote learning; the Swords of Iron War, which disrupted the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of evacuees, including many minors; and Operation "Rising Lion", during which educational activities were also interrupted following an Iranian missile attack.
The Acute Hardship of War
The State Comptroller and Ombudsman reports investigate a wide array of issues impacting all dimensions of life for Israeli residents. The most recent reports highlighted deficiencies in the management and operation of the education system during the Swords of Iron War and prior to it.
A survey published in the State Comptroller's report of July 2025 indicated that approximately 61% of parents reported that their children experienced difficulties between 2018 and 2023, even before the tragedy of October 7.
The difficulties intensified with the onset of the Swords of Iron War: the survey revealed that about 53% of students in grades 7 through 12 exhibited psychosomatic symptoms at the war’s commencement.
The psychological-educational services operated by local authorities in schools and kindergartens, under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, are intended to identify mental distress among children and facilitate their treatment. An Audit Report by the State Comptroller of these psychological services revealed that 61% of parents whose children experience difficulties did not seek assistance, primarily due to unfamiliarity with the resources available.
This lack of awareness was especially prevalent in Arab communities (62%) and among the ultra-orthodox population (54%).
55 Days Wait Time for an Educational Psychologist
The State Comptroller’s findings indicate significant deficiencies affecting the accessibility of psychological-educational services and their capacity to respond in both routine and emergency situations.
The Ministry of Education has not updated, for more than 35 years, the ratio of educational psychologists to the student population within local authorities. Consequently, each psychologist in the special education system is responsible for 300 students; for pupils in kindergarten and first grade, the responsibility extends to 500 students; and for students in grades 2-12, the ratio climbs to 1,000 students.
Due to this overwhelming workload, children face a waiting period of approximately 55 days to receive an initial response from the psychological-educational service. What recourse do parents have when urgent appointments are necessary? They are compelled to seek private therapists at their own expense.
The audit further uncovered that the Ministry of Education does not extend psychological services to children under the age of three, except in instances of severe harm.
Earthquake in the Classroom
As if the challenges posed by a global pandemic and warfare were insufficient, natural disasters – such as a significant earthquake anticipated to impact Israel in the future – could also jeopardize the educational system's functionality.
The State Comptroller's July 2025 report examined how local authorities address the issue of dangerous buildings. The State Comptroller advised the Ministry of Education to develop guidelines for assessing the structural integrity of schools and kindergartens; this has yet to occur.
Insufficient English Proficiency
Proficient command of the English language is a MUST; thus, the Ministry of Education has encouraged students in recent years to undertake the English matriculation examination at advanced levels of four and five units of study.
However, an audit conducted by the State Comptroller found that high school graduates’ mastery of English is, in fact, insufficient.
In 2017, the Ministry of Education launched the National Program for Promoting the Teaching of English, which aimed to increase teaching hours, emphasize oral skills, and establish clear goals targeted at recruiting quality educators, enhancing student participation in advanced English matriculation exams, improving speaking proficiency, and reducing disparities among students.
The State Comptroller’s report of July 2024, which addressed English language education within the educational system, concluded that the program, intended to span five years, was effectively terminated after only three years.
Did the initiative achieve its objectives? The State Comptroller found that, in 2022, significant disparities persisted: two-thirds of students from affluent communities participated in the five-unit level English examination, compared to only around a quarter from disadvantaged communities. In that same year, Jewish students took the five-unit level English exam at twice the rate of their Arab counterparts, and more than half of ultra-Orthodox students and approximately a quarter of Bedouin students did not enroll in the English matriculation examination at all.
When graduates of the four and five-unit level English programs applied to universities and colleges, it became apparent that their proficiency was lacking; 96% of four-unit level graduates and 70% of five-unit level graduates did not qualify for exemption from supplementary English studies.
The Teacher Shortage
In recent years, over 1,000 new English educators have entered classrooms; however, the State Comptroller's findings indicate that 26% of all English teachers lack the requisite training. The educational system continues to experience a deficit of hundreds of qualified teachers to instruct the language. What measures can be implemented to rectify this situation? The State Comptroller recommends that the Minister of Education develop a follow-up program aimed at enhancing English studies and recruiting competent educators for this initiative.
Education has the potential to mitigate the disparities present within Israeli society; nonetheless, it does not always fulfill this role effectively.
Reducing Gaps
This issue is particularly evident in relation to students of Ethiopian descent. A report published by the State Comptroller in July 2024 revealed that among students of Ethiopian descent who graduated from high school in 2021, nearly half lacked a high school diploma that met university entrance requirements.
Specifically, only 54% of people of Ethiopian descent who completed their studies that year were eligible for such a matriculation certificate, in contrast to 75.1% of all students within the Hebrew education system. The State Comptroller's analysis of twelfth-grade students in Netivot (2021) and Kiryat Malachi (2022) – two cities with significant Ethiopian populations – indicated that there were no students of Ethiopian descent enrolled in five-unit level tracks of mathematics or who received honors.
This disparity persists as these students transition to higher education institutions. Among high school graduates of Ethiopian descent from 1995 to 2001, only 23.2% of women and 12.2% of men attained an academic degree, the lowest rates observed within the Jewish population.
Grade Bonus for Matriculation
The Ombudsman's Office within the Office of the State Comptroller provides assistance to individuals encountering difficulties with public agencies, including children and adolescents.
For instance, through the Ombudsman's intervention, a high school student who was evacuated from her home during the Swords of Iron War obtained a grade bonus on the matriculation exam that had initially been denied to her.
This student, who was relocated with her family from Shlomi, a town near the Lebanese border, took the Hebrew language matriculation exam using an adapted questionnaire, consistent with provisions available to students displaced from their homes and whose local school was inactive.
Upon completion of the exam, the Ministry of Education communicated that the student's exam would not be evaluated because she was supposed to attend a school in Nahariya, a city whose residents remained in place during the war and whose schools operated. The Ministry noted that although the student was not entitled to take the exam with the adapted questionnaire, her status as an evacuee warranted only a grade bonus.
The student clarified that due to her evacuation to a remote area, she could not attend school in Nahariya and had not commenced her studies at that institution.
Following an appeal by the Ombudsman to the Ministry of Education, the Ministry announced that, ex-gratia, the student's exam with the adapted questionnaire would be assessed; however, she would not receive the grade bonus, as students from schools located outside of the evacuated area were not eligible.
The Ombudsman's position was that denying the student the grade bonus was unreasonable. Subsequently, after another appeal from the Ombudsman, the Ministry of Education decided to award her the grade bonus. The guidelines were subsequently revised to include the option of contacting the Exceptions Committee for students requiring special assistance.
Should you feel that public organizations have infringed upon your rights or that you have not received adequate service from a government ministry or other public entity, you are encouraged to file a complaint with the Ombudsman here.
Following a period of significant turbulence and instability, Israeli students now require a routine that will enable them to concentrate on their studies. The Office of the State Comptroller and Ombudsman will continue monitoring developments within the education system, identifying deficiencies, and conducting follow-up audits to evaluate the measures taken to address these issues. Wishing a successful academic year for all Israeli children!
