48% of parents unhappy with education system

Generally, dissatisfaction was relatively high with locations, physical conditions and the level of teaching at the schools.

By DANIELLE ZIRI
Students in a classroom [Illustrative] (photo credit: REUTERS)
Students in a classroom [Illustrative]
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Some 48 percent of the public aged 20 or older are unsatisfied with the educational system, according to a report the Central Bureau for Statistics released on Sunday.
Among respondents, 36% said the system is “not so good,” and 12% said it is “not good at all.”
On the other hand, 45% said the education system functioned positively.
Among those who answered more positively, 38% said the system was “good,” and 7% found it “very good.”
The data was extracted from the statistic bureau’s 2015 social survey, which was designed to examine public attitudes toward government services, institutions, civic engagement and feelings of discrimination. About 7,100 people aged 20 and older were surveyed between April and December 2015.
Fewer than half of respondents – 42% – said the education system provided services in an equitable manner, and the majority did not believe so.
The education system ranked first in the report of government services most in need of improvement.
The CBS also looked at parental satisfaction with the educational institutions their children attended. The results showed that levels of dissatisfaction grew with the age of the children.
Only 12% of parents with children in nursery school were unsatisfied with the schools, while 13% with children in kindergarten, and 19% with children in elementary school and high school had negative opinions of their children’s institutions.
While 88% of parents with children in nurseries and 85% with children in kindergarten were “very satisfied” or “generally satisfied” with the school, 81% of parents with children in elementary or high schools reported the same level of satisfaction.
The CBS also pointed out that satisfaction among parents varied according to the demographic sector: 85% of Jews were satisfied with the educational institutions of their children compared with 69% of the Arab population.
Household income was also a determining factor: 84% with a gross per capita income of over NIS 2,000 per month and 76% of those with an income of less than NIS 2,000 were satisfied with the school their child attended.
Generally, dissatisfaction was relatively high with locations, physical conditions and the level of teaching at the schools.
Extrapolating from the report, the children of some 355,000 receive private tutoring to supplement the education provided at school.