IDF to expand scholarship program
An online protest by IDF combatants who enlisted in August and November 2013 has borne fruit as the military announces its decision to increase the number of bachelor's degree scholarships available; program will soon be extended to include combat support soldiers and noncombatants too.
The IDF has announced that it will increase the number of scholarships made available to combat soldiers wanting to pursue bachelor's degrees—a decision which means the extension of benefits amounting to tens of thousands of shekels for combatants who enlisted into the military after July 1, 2013.
The decision was made following an online protest by soldiers who were drafted into the IDF in August and November of that year, for whom the benefits were not originally intended.
After its first year, during which the benefits will be made available exclusively to combatants and those from less affluent economic backgrounds, the new scholarship program is expected to expand to combat support soldiers and noncombatants as well.
The program will be funded by donations from HaAguda LeMa'an HaKhayal (in Hebrew, "the foundation for the soldier"). Soldiers will be responsible for funding a third of the cost of their degrees out of pocket.
The scholarships will cover three years of schooling (a common period of time for university studies in Israel), with those studying medicine or engineering being eligible for an additional year of funding.
The program is already underway, aiding about 10,000 IDF veterans. In four years, it is expected to include some 40,000.
Furthermore, it is expected to provide a total of NIS 27 million in its first year, and reach its peak in the coming years with an average NIS 200 million a year. Scholarships will be available for institutes of higher education recognized by the state.
The program will not fund studies abroad, and will not be available to those receiving other scholarships except those assisting in the cost of living funding. Soldiers from Israeli periphery towns, who currently enjoy benefits funding their first year of higher education, will continue to be eligible for the benefits without having to pay a third of their fees until after that first year.
