'Majority of Israeli students work while studying'

About 73% of students work during academic year, according to a survey released by the National Union of Israel Students.

By DANIELLE ZIRI
Students at Tel Aviv University 370 (photo credit: Danielle Ziri)
Students at Tel Aviv University 370
(photo credit: Danielle Ziri)
About 73 percent of students in the country worked during the 2012-2013 academic year, earning an average monthly wage of NIS 3,230, according to a survey released on Sunday.
The National Union of Israel Students published the survey to mark National Student Week.
Some 71% of the working students work up to 100 hours each month. About a third of the students – 29% – work over 100 hours a month.
In addition, while 10% of students live in dormitories, 40% reside with their parents and 43% rent an apartment or a house. Only 7% live in a place they own.
According to the report, during the 2012-2013 academic year, which will end this summer, some 305,550 students studied in the 67 higher education institutions across the country.
Out of them, 236,010 were enrolled in undergraduate studies, 57,670 were graduate students and 10,620 studied for a PhD.
Among the students, approximately 55% are women, while Arab students made up only 13.5% of undergraduate programs, 8% of graduate programs and 4.3% of PhD programs.
The data also revealed that the most popular fields of study among undergraduate students in this academic year were social sciences, engineering and architecture.
Among graduate students, the most demanded fields were business administration and management.
Overall, 67% of students in Israel expressed satisfaction with the quality of teaching in their respective academic institutions.
The survey also showed that about half of students in Israel receive financial aid to pay for their studies, 40% of whom receive relatively low scholarships – NIS 2,500 to NIS 5,000 per year – and 27% of them received a scholarship amounting to between NIS 5,000 and NIS 10,000 a month.
Some 45 percent of students in Israel were called for active reserve duty in the 2012-2013 academic year.
Students serve an average of 14 days a year.
The data also addressed the issue of sexual harassment in academia and stated that 17.9% of students reported they had experienced one of the behaviors defined by the law as sexual harassment in their academic institution, the majority of whom said such behavior came from another student. Eighty-three percent of students do not know who is in charge of sexual harassment complaints in their institution and 40% do not know their school’s sexual harassment policy.
The annual National Student Week, which started on Monday, aims to recognize the importance of higher education and the contribution of students to life in Israel.
The occasion will be celebrated with several social events during the week in the different academic institutions.
“During the national students week, we’re going to raise the burning issues for the students in order to continue to impact socioeconomic reality in Israel,” student union chairman Uri Reshtik said in a statement.
The Knesset will also mark the occasion on Tuesday, when discussions are expected to be held on various topics such as women in academia and students in the job market.
A meeting between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and student representatives is also to be held on Tuesday.