Thousands of Arab Israelis choose to study abroad

The number of Arab students in Israeli academia has doubled over the past decade, but thousands of others choose to study abroad or in the Palestinian Authority, writes Akiva Bigman for Israel Hayom.

Last year about 15,000 Arab Israeli students studied abroad or over the Green Line – half of them in the Palestinian Authority. There are several disadvantages to this for Israel: students pay tens of thousands of shekels a year in tuition fees in private or semi-private institutions – money that could have benefited the Israeli higher education system; they are exposed to studies and culture that are different, and sometimes hostile, to the Israeli experience; and they are forced to pass difficult licensing tests when they return to Israel, which creates a deep sense of unfairness.

The pattern of Arab Israelis studying abroad shifted from studying in the USSR in the 1970s, to Germany in the 1980s, Italy, Romania and Hungary in the 1990s and later Jordan after the peace agreements were signed with Jordan and the Council for Higher Education recognition of studies there.
Full report on the Israel Hayom site