Council for Higher Education
The Council for Higher Education is the government agency in charge of
higher education affairs including teaching, science, and research. The
Council operates pursuant to the Council for Higher Education Law 5718-1958,
and is duly incorporated in terms of all liabilities, entitlement, and legal
actions. The Minister of Education and Culture is the Council's ex officio
chairman. The Minister is responsible for implementation of the Council for
Higher Education Law and appoints the Council's Director-General. The
Council has a five-year term of office. Its main powers are as follows:
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To issue licenses for the establishment and operation of
institutions of higher education, subject to Government approval. If the
Council refuses to license an institution, the Minister of Education may
appeal to the Government, which may direct the Council to reconsider the
matter. The decision reached in such subsequent discussion must be ratified
by the Government, whose decision is final.
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To accredit and operate an institution as an institute of higher
education, accreditation being subject to Government approval. When so
requested by the Government, the Council deliberates further on the
accreditation request, and its decision is final. the President of the State
confers a certificate of accreditation on such institutions. An announcement
of the conferring of accreditation is published in the Official Gazette
(Reshumot).
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To rescind the accreditation of an accredited institution; such action
requires Government ratification. If the Government does not ratify the
withdrawal of accreditation, the Council's decision after further
deliberation is final.
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To authorize an accredited institution to confer academic degrees.
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To authorize the institution to use designations (e.g., "university,"
"faculty," "academy") that require authorization under the Council for
Higher Education Law.
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To make proposals to accredited institutions as to their expansion and
improvement, as well as academic cooperation in teaching and research.
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To submit recommendations to the Government through the Planning and
Grants Committee (PGC) for the development of higher education and for state
participation in higher-education system budgets, in accordance with
Israel's social and national requirements.
Council Composition: The current Council has 25 members,
including the chairman (the Minister of Education and Culture), and the
chairman of the Planning and Grants Committee as ex officio members. At
least two-thirds of the Council's members are prominent figures from the
world of higher education, while the others include public figures,
including a member of the bench, an industrialist, and a student
representative. Council members are appointed by the President of the State
on Government recommendation. It holds plenary sessions and operates
primarily through both standing and ad hoc sub-committees.
The Planning and Grants Committee (PGC) is a subcommittee
of the Council for Higher Education, whose composition is approved by the
Government. The PGC has six members, including the chairman; four are senior
academics in various disciplines, while the other two represent business and
economics circles. PGC members are elected by the Council in a secret ballot
for three-year terms, and can be re-elected once. An administrative staff
handles the PGC's organizational, planning, and budget activities.
The Government has authorized the PGC to operate in accordance with the
following principles and fulfill the following duties:
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to be an independent body, mediating between the Government
and the National Institutions on the one hand, and the institutions for
higher education on the other, in all matters of educational budgets;
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to propose the regular and development budgets for higher education on
the basis of social and national needs, while maintaining academic freedom
and striving to promote research and education;
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to allocate total approved funding among the institutions of higher
education;
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to propose education development plans to the Government and the Council
for Higher Education, and to plan financing;
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to make institutes of higher education more efficient and improve
inter-institution coordination;
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to monitor budget use in order to avoid deficits or overruns;
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to provide the Council for Higher Education with opinions about the
opening of all new institutions or new units with major financial
implications within a given institution.
Special Activities
The universities' activities include both research and teaching. Unless
research exists side by side with teaching at universities, the caliber of
instruction will decline. Some 30% of the total R&D carried out in Israel
(including the defense sector) and 45% of civilian R&D (in the natural
sciences, medicine, agriculture, and engineering) is carried out at
universities. In the humanities and social sciences, most research is
carried out at universities, funded by the regular budget and research
grants from outside sources (amounting to tens of millions of dollars).
Allocations to Research Funds: The PGC earmarks 4% of its resources to
provide special support for research activities, primarily through the Basic
Research Fund, the fund run jointly with the Atomic Energy Commission, and
the fund run jointly with the Defence Ministry's R&D Unit.
Allon Grants for Young Scholars are intended to help universities hire
outstanding young scholars. Some 20-30 three-year grants are awarded
annually, each in an amount equivalent to the average cost of employing a
lecturer or senior lecturer. Competition for these grants is based solely on
individual excellence, with no university- or subject-related
restrictions.
Computers: The PGC supports the development of computer facilities at
universities in a number of ways, including the follows: contributing to the
development costs of computer centers; contributing to the expenses of the
IUCC (Inter-University Computing Center); contributing to the acquisition of
super-computers.
Books and Journals: The PGC makes a special annual allocation for the
acquisition of books and journals by university libraries, as well as for
interlibrary cooperation, which includes the operation of a catalogue of
periodical literature; the operation of an interlibrary loan service; the
operation of an inter-university library network, linking the university's
computerized catalogues (based on the Aleph library catalogue software), and
permitting computerized cataloging, searches, and loans within and between
all the libraries linked to the network.
Sources: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs |