Ed. system reports slight rise in pupils fit to take matriculation exams

While Education Ministry data show improvement in number of dropouts, pupils eligible for matriculation, less show up for exams or make academic cut

Reuters | Published: 08.02.08, 20:29

A 0.4% increase was registered in the number of pupils eligible to take their matriculation exams in the 2006-2007 school year – as indicated by data published Saturday by Education Ministry. The ministry is especially satisfied with the decline in the number of high school dropouts. Girls are still leading over boys in qulifying to write their final exams, but the gap is smaller than the previous year.

The ministry’s matriculation department data showed that the number of pupils who qualified for matriculation last year searched 46.3% (53,325 pupils), of which the Jewish sector comprises 51.8% compared to 50.8% in the previous year. In the Arab sector, 35.6% were eligible compared to 35.7% in the previous year.

Gender wise, girls were still leading in qualifying for matriculation during the 2006-2007 school year with 61.4% eligibility compared to 51.3% among boys.

However, their eligibility has dropped from 63.1% in the previous year.

Apart from the rise in pupils qualified for matriculation, the 2006-2007 school year also marked a 2.2% increase in school enrollment (81.1%), indicating that the percentage of dropouts has dropped.

Education Minister Yuli Tamir addressed the matter: “I support the principals who are doing everything in their power to prevent the drop out of pupils from schools and cherish the educational objective of completing 12 years of study compared to those who drop their pupils only to show that their school has a higher (matriculation) eligibility rate. “

However, it may still be too early for optimism; it seems that the number of pupils actually taking the exams has also declined. A segmentation of the matriculation department data showed that the number of pupils who were eligible to take their matriculation exams during 2006-2007, and also met the academic requirements for higher education is 90.5%, compared to 91.0% in the previous school year.