Policy on Enhancing Access to Higher Education: The Israeli Case

Abstract

Israel’s new higher education policy, introduced by the Council for Higher Education (CHE) in 1994, was intended to make higher education accessible to population groups on the social and geographical periphery of Israel and narrow social gaps. This article will examine the following main question: Does access to higher education abet social mobility and narrow social disparities? This article emphasises the changes in the role of academia as a gateway to occupations that allow for high social mobility. Previous research has not focused on this qualitative gap. This article asserts that the increase in enrolment in subjects that do not lead to high income in non-affluent localities may perpetuate the qualitative gaps between these localities and affluent ones. This affects the outputs of the academic system; the quality gaps are beginning to have impacts not only among localities in Israel but also on international comparison tests.