The multiyear plan set a goal to increase the number of students of Ethiopian extraction enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs such that the percentage of Ethiopian students will be approximately 1.7% by the end of the multiyear plan in 2021/22, commensurate with their percentage of the population. The multiyear plan set a goal to increase the number of students of Ethiopian extraction enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs such that the percentage of Ethiopian students will be approximately 1.7% by the end of the multiyear plan in 2021/22, commensurate with their percentage of the population. In 2018/19, the number of Ethiopian undergraduate students was 3,567, representing 1.5% of all undergraduate students (nearly achieving this goal).

This significant increase is the result of a holistic program, broad in scope, advanced by the PBC over the last three years. The program commences after military service by providing exposure to academia in , continues by incentivizing and providing reinforcement through all stages of academia, starting with preacademic preparatory programs, through undergraduate studies, continuing with support and merit scholarships for advanced degrees – graduate degrees, doctoral degrees, and postdoctoral degrees, and all the way through appointment of academic staff at institutions of higher learning.

In the framework of the plan for making education accessible to students of Ethiopian extraction, over the last two years, we have reinforced the coordinators for the “Hesegim” program to make education accessible to students from the socioeconomic periphery. These coordinators are active in those towns that have the highest populations of persons of Ethiopian extraction. The coordinators’ role is to locate and identify appropriate youth, guide them toward academia, and assist them in choosing a course of studies. Similarly, the PBC helps by means of the Hesegim program and through financed preacademic preparatory programs offering a psychometric course designed to help students meet the admissions requirements of academic institutions.

The PBC, through academic institutions, provides a broad framework for preacademic preparatory programs for undergraduate students of Ethiopian descent including academic reinforcement, learning skills, dormitory financing and travel costs, and so forth. This broad framework helps reduce the percentage of dropouts and increases the likelihood of success in undergraduate studies.

At the same time and as a central element, the Steering Committee is promoting a perception of excellence and leadership which includes support and encouragement for outstanding students throughout all degree levels, from bachelor’s degrees through master’s research degrees, doctorates, and all the way through hiring academic staff members of Ethiopian descent in institutions of higher education. This program facilitates supporting students on research tracks by means of broad merit scholarships as well as enlightening the Ethiopian community from the point of view of excellence and realizing the social academic potential inherent in students.

The grants for hiring academic staff members are intended for young outstanding scientists of Ethiopian descent. The purpose is to enable the grant’s recipients to be hired by institutions of higher education that are financed by the PBC in Israel; universities and academic colleges, in addition to existing tracks, by adding dedicated budget lines. These institutions commit to accepting grant recipients as full-time staff members at the end of the scholarship.