How to save Israel's universities
Our universities are still doing well, but this will change irremediably if drastic measures are not taken.
By Carlo Strenger Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu Israel newsThe last week brought Israel's universities one reason to celebrate: Ada Yonath winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry; and one reason for deep concern: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Technion both fell in The Times' rankings. Israel no longer has even a single university in the top one hundred. How did this happen?
The explanation for Professor Yonath's achievement (in addition, of course, to her extraordinary talent and devotion to research), as she has said herself, is that until the 1970s - at the onset of her career, even during times of economic hardship - Israel's leaders saw higher education as one of their highest priorities.
The explanation for the deterioration in the standing of Israel's universities is that in the last decade the country's leadership has regarded universities as simply another operation that can be made more cost efficient. The numbers speak for themselves: In the last 20 years the student body in Israel has tripled, and now stands at 250,000 (which is more than 40 percent of the relevant age group), a very favorable development. But during the same time period, the number of senior faculty has decreased. Israel now has 4,300 senior lecturers and professors - fewer than in the 1970s, when the population was less than half of what is today and the number of students a small fraction.
Under such conditions, it is no wonder that quality deteriorates. Our students do not have one-on-one contact with professors - not, as some ignorant detractors argue, because professors don't work, but because we teach classes comprised of hundreds of students, who are further deprived of teaching assistants because the universities no longer have the budgets to pay them. In addition, research infrastructure has not been renewed in many laboratories, putting Israeli universities at a disadvantage academically.
The damage that has been done thanks to years of neglect is enormous, but not beyond repair. In terms of pure academic quality, our universities are still doing well, and we remain among the leading nations in the world. But this will change irremediably if drastic measures are not taken now.
Therefore I call upon Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take immediate steps to rescue one of Israel's most valuable assets: our university system. There is a simple, measurable plan that can turn the tide.
More than 25% of Israeli academics teach abroad. Eighty percent of them would be willing to return to Israel, if only they were given an appointment, even if this entails a decrease in salary. Many of them teach at the best of the world's universities, and yet they want to teach and research here, in Israel. The cost of educating a top researcher is enormous. The academics abroad have already been trained, mostly at Israeli universities. In order to capitalize on the investment Israel has already made, these academics must be brought back home.
We must make it a national priority to have 150 of these researchers return to Israel within the next three years, and the price tag is manageable: NIS 150 million a year. The impact would be immediate, as the standing of Israel's universities would rise for the three following reasons: First, the ratio between faculty and students (one of the central benchmarks of quality) would automatically improve; second, we would increase the most important measure of all - the number of citations per faculty; and third, we would improve the internationality of faculty, another important measure.
In the long run, this investment will prove economically profitable. Higher education is big business. Students are willing to pay $40,000 a year to study at universities ranked in the world's top 20. Israel's universities can get there within a few years, if the government starts to see the phenomenal impact of higher education on the economy. This may sound unrealistic, but look at the following datum: When you look only at the quality of research (citation per faculty), Tel Aviv University is already ranked 22 in the world, with the Hebrew University and Technion similarly placed.
For Israel, an elite university system is not a luxury, but a matter of life and death. We are a small country with no natural resources, and we cannot compete with the Far East in manufacturing. Israel will either be a knowledge society thriving on research and development, or it will starve. In dealing with truly existential threats, like Iran, our survival depends on technological superiority, which in turn depends on top-quality researchers. Saving the universities must begin immediately. This is how we can make sure that Ada Yonath's Nobel Prize will not be the last awarded to an Israeli scientist, but one in a long series to come.
Prof. Carlo Strenger teaches in the Psychology Department of Tel Aviv University.
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I'm curious about the ethnic composition -- Ashkenazim, Mizrahim, Palestinian/Arab -- of the faculties and student bodies of Israel's universities. I ask because, as I understand it, there are few countries in the industrialized world where there's such a strong correlation between ethnicity and economic status as there is in Israel. And that's not even counting the areas ruled by the Israeli state but where the people have no citizenship rights -- unless, of course, they're Jews!
First of all, I congratulate Professor Yonath. We praise her not only for her extraordinary talent and commitment for research, but also for her life-long deep commitment to Israel. As the author mentioned, the Israeli universities are in the ranks of 20-25 for the academic achievement, but beyond 100 for their overall level. Yes, bringing talented scientists to Israel (and retaining them) will probably further improve research. Will it automatically improve teaching? Major universities in Israel are supported by the government. And the author encourages government funding. While number of professors decreased, each professor costs more... Yes, some people pay $40,000 per year tuitions to study in established private universities. Are they sitting and waiting to fly to Israel to pay their money to study in Jerusalem, TA and Haifa? If so, let's invite them!
Only godless commie liberals support public universities. Rich people can pay for their education and no conservative nation needs an educated public.
Israel, like America, has become a nation dominated by the right. And everyone on the right understands that those worthy of education, the wealthy, can pay for that education and those unworthy, those too poor to pay, do not deserve an education. Education has nothing to do with advancing the nation to those who's only concern is advancing the rule of the rich. The rich can educate their children. And anyone who is not rich does not - indeed it is dangerous to educate them - an education. Only a newspaper who did not understand who holds power, what their goals were, and what would happen if they were thwarted by education of low lift scum, would have made the mistake of publishing this article. Bibi attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ehud Barak attended Standford. They got their educations because of money, and have nothing but contempt for those who might need to get their education because it would benefit the nation, Conservatives hate educating the rabble.
Look at the reality of the situation and follow the money. Some people and companies make a lot of money from the current situation with state funds being spent of settlements and the military. If money is spent on education, there is no opportunity for these people and companies to make a profit, so why would they want to see this happen? Turkeys don't vote for Christmas!
... even with a fraction of the investment in settlements...
Perhaps if Israel stopped investing its money in West Bank settlements and in the continued occupation of the West Bank & Gaza, then we might see our universities bear creative and intellectual fruits!
To save Israeli universities and to propel them back to the top, and since the government of Israel cannot be counted on to do its job when it comes to education, Israel Bond bond purchases should be directed to Israel University Bonds and invested in infrastructure, development, retention, and promotion so that Israel's future as a brain power house is assured.