MIDDLE EAST

Israel Arab education plan to boost growth
Israeli Arabs have lagged behind the Jewish majority economically and have accused the government and Jewish employers of discrimination. The state has pledged to narrow the gap and sees promoting higher education among Arabs as key, write Alisa Odenheimer and Gwen Ackerman for Bloomberg.According to Manuel Trajtenberg, chair of the budgeting and planning committee of the Council for Higher Education in Israel, which formulated the plan, Israel’s six-year project to improve its Arab community’s job prospects will also help to bolster slowing economic growth. “There is a huge potential there for economic gains, economic benefits, first of all for the Arab community itself and for the Israeli economy at large,” said Trajtenberg
Over the life of the higher education council’s programme for Arabs, the state plans to spend 305 million shekels (US$82 million) to subsidise preparatory courses for entrance exams, offer tutoring and career counselling for university students, and scholarships for advanced degrees. Some programmes are already running.
Full report on the Bloomberg site