Most young Israelis would consider private school for kids

Fifty-two percent of those under 35 support a state-run school voucher program in which the education budget would be allocated to parents, who would use it to pay for their children’s school.

By BEN HARTMAN
Children at the Hadar school in Negev 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Children at the Hadar school in Negev 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The majority of Israelis under 35 believe the quality of the public education system has deteriorated in recent years and would consider sending their children to private schools, according to a survey released on Wednesday by the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies.
The researchers polled 1,000 Jewish Israelis.
Fifty-two percent of those under 35 support a state-run school voucher program in which the education budget would be allocated to parents, who would use it to pay for their children’s school.
While overall, 53% of those polled were opposed to vouchers, among those aged 18-25, 62% support vouchers, and only 29% were against.
Among respondents aged 26- 35, 49% said they support such a system with 41% opposed.
The highest level of opposition to a voucher program came from those over the age of 65, among whom 65% were against this kind of initiative.
According to the institute’s executive director Corinne Sauer, the survey “found no correlation between a family’s income and the probability that parents will consider the private school option. The lower a family’s income, the more likely it is to support school vouchers that would allow parents greater freedom in choosing their children’s school.”
The survey also showed that 53% of those polled feel that the state education system has deteriorated, while only 12% said it has improved and 25% said it has neither declined nor improved.
The highest proportion of respondents who believe the system has deteriorated was found among those aged between 26 and 35, at 61%.