BoI: Five-day school week would raise productivity

education  photo: Shutterstock
education photo: Shutterstock

The Bank of Israel proposes greater investment in education and more overlap between school hours and work hours to bring productivity up to the OECD average.

With Israeli productivity 24% below the OECD average, the Bank of Israel's Research Department has issued a report proposing ways to narrow the gap. Focusing on education, the Bank of Israel proposes greater investment in education and switching to a five-day school week with longer school days.

The Bank of Israel research Department observes that while Israel has a comparatively high number of academically educated people in the population, the quality of education is poor. In addition, inequality of achievement between the different population groups in Israel is very large. The Bank of Israel stresses the direct connection between the quality of higher education and productivity.

The Bank of Israel believes that the answer is greater investment in education and especially for the lower socioeconomic sectors with more financing for the disadvantaged. The Bank of Israel feels it is more important to improve the quality of the teachers than the size of classes or add extra hours. To attract better quality teachers, financial incentives and better work conditions must be put in place including improving the physical environment of schools.

The Bank of Israel proposes switching to a five-day week and canceling school on Fridays. The longer school day on the other five days will help working parents.

The Bank of Israel also wants more investment in transport infrastructure to reduce traffic jams, a congestion fee, and more effort to cut government bureaucracy. The Bank of Israel estimates that all the proposed investments would cost 3% of GDP but increase productivity by 20% in the long-term.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 18, 2019

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019

education  photo: Shutterstock
education photo: Shutterstock
Inflation  credit: Tali Bogdanovsky Unexpectedly low February CPI reading cuts inflation

While inflation in Israel in the 12 months to the end of February 2025 is lower than forecast, housing prices continue to rise.

Yitzhak Tshuva credit: Gidon Levy and Tali Bogdanovsky Competition Authority allows Delek takeover of Isracard

The Competition Authority is considered the easier of the two regulatory hurdles that the deal must overcome, the other being the Supervisor of Banks.

David Amsalem  credit  Noam Moskowitz, Knesset Spokesperson's Office Rafael to pay state NIS 444m dividend

The minister in charge of the Government Companies Authority, David Amsalem, has approved the payment by the defense company.

Barak MX air defense system  credit: IAI IAI profit jumps 55%

Israel Aerospace Industries posted a net profit of $493 million for 2024, and ended the year with an all-time high orders backlog of $25 billion.

A TSG system in tactical use  credit: PR TSG signs cooperation agreement with US defense co

The agreement includes the integration of TSG's advanced technologies into sensor-based defense systems, which will be integrated into the operational systems of US defense units.

Bria CEO Yair Adato credit: Kseniia Poliak Israeli visual generative AI co Bria raises $40m

Bria’s Visual Generative AI platform empowers businesses to create predictable, controllable, and on-brand content that aligns with their visual language.

Amnon Shashua and Aviram Ziv credit: Eyal Izhar OrCam stymied by investor dispute with Shashua

Demands by institutional investors are blocking the visual and hearing impairment device developer's recovery plan.

Work on the Green Line credit: Bar Lavi Egged wins tender to operate TA light rail Purple, Green Lines

NTA awarded the tender to Egged, which already operates the Red Line, despite government ministry opposition to one operator for the entire network.

Gabi Seroussi illustration: Gil Gibli Board chooses Seroussi as IAI chair as Erdan freezes candidacy

Israel Aerospace Industries board chose Gabi Seroussi as chair even though he did not to go through the preliminary process of the Government Companies Authority appointments review committee.

Bavli Park penthouse credit: Eyal Tagar Tel Aviv Park Bavli penthouse sells for NIS 43m

A 44th floor penthouse in one of the two towers in businessman Yitzhak Tshuva's Park Bavli project has been bought by an Israeli businessperson.

El Al aircraft  credit: Yoav Yaari El Al pilots receive nearly NIS 250,000 bonus each

Thanks to the agreements signed with the unions in 2018, El Al's employees as well as senior management share in last year's success.

Pentera CEO Amitai Ratzon credit: Eyal Izhar Israeli security validation co Pentera raises $60m

Pentera's platform enables security teams to analyze complete attack paths, identify root causes, and prioritize remediation for effective risk reduction.

Tel Aviv credit: Shutterstock Supply of unsold new homes hits record

Israel's real estate market is sliding into recession with 78,000 unsold new apartments in January, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports.

D&B chairman Doron Cohen and Meitar partner Dan Geva Meitar reclaims title of Israel's biggest law firm

Meitar has first place with 537 lawyers, followed by Herzog Fox Neeman with 512 lawyers, according to the latest Dun's 100 rankings.

First International Bank of Israel CEO Eli Cohen  credit: Eyal Toueg First Int'l posts top return on equity

First International Bank of Israel's return on equity in 2024 was 19%, the highest among Israel's banks.

Dina Ben Tal Ganancia  credit: Guy Kushi & Yariv Fein El Al almost quintuples profit

The airline posted a net profit of $545 million for 2024, 4.7 times the profit in 2023, and an all-time high.

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018