The Number of Arab Students Enrolled in High Tech Subjects has been Doubled in Six Years

Prof. Yaffa Zilbershats, Chair of the PBC: “This impressive data demonstrates the great success in revolutionizing accessibility of higher education to the Arab sector, that emphasizes integrating students into the elite of Israeli academia. Indeed, today, we are witness to Arab students studying and excelling on every campus in Israel. The CHE and the PBC will continue to encourage the tens of thousands of Arab students to take up the challenge and integrate into the most sought after professions in the market, of course, while being provided with academic support and financial aid.”

An achievement for the national plan to reinforce high-tech studies: According to new CHE data, the number of Arab students studying toward their bachelor’s degree in high-tech programs has doubled in six years (from just 1,851 students in 2012 to 3,778 students in 2018). This impressive increase is also expressed in percentages, where in 2018, Arab students constituted approximately 12% of all students enrolled in high-tech subjects (31,268 students), as opposed to just 8% in 2012 (out of 24,378 students in total that year).
The data thus shows that while the total high-tech student population grew by 30%, the number of Arab students increased by 100%.

High-tech studies included the following fields: Electronics and electrical engineering, communication system engineering, software engineering, optical engineering, computer science, and mathematics.

First year students enrolled in high-tech subjects: The data shows that this doubling of the number of students is also reflected in the number of first year Arab students enrolled in high-tech subjects. In 2018, 1,333 Arab students were enrolled as first year students in high-tech subjects, compared to only 636 Arab students in 2012.

Universities and colleges: The data shows that, between 2012 and 2018, there was an approximately 90% increase in the number of Arab students enrolled in high-tech subjects in universities and a parallel increase of approximately 140% in the number of Arab students enrolled in high-tech subjects in colleges. (See the table, below)

Bachelor’s Degree – High Tech Subjects (Arab Students)