A.
The Population and Goals
In the 2001/02 school year, the Central Bureau of Statistics conducted a survey in
cooperation with the Ministry of Education Culture and Sport, which examined post-primary
educational institutions with a boarding school in the Hebrew education.1
The survey included all of the post-primary educational institutions (intermediate schools and
secondary schools2) under the supervision of the Ministry of Education Culture and Sport.
The survey aimed to identify and enumerate educational institutions with a boarding school,
and to measure the scope of the population of pupils who reside at the boarding schools in
these institutions, by different characteristics.
The survey did not include educational institutions at other levels (primary schools, teachers’
colleges, etc.), nor did it examine whether those institutions have a boarding school.
In addition, the survey did not include residential facilities that are not in the framework of
educational institutions (e.g., boarding schools of the Association for the Advancement of
Education, boarding schools that are not educational institutions, etc.).
The population of pupils includes those who resided in boarding schools at educational
institutions, as defined above, when the survey was conducted.
In the 2001/02 survey, the boarding school survey questionnaires were sent for the first time
to schools in the Arab education, and data on five institutions with a boarding school were
received. Because of their small number (see Table A), these institutions were not included
in the tables of this publication.
Table A.- Institutions, Classes, and Pupils in Boarding Schools in the Arab Education
Absolute Numbers
Total institutions
1
Percentages
5
Total classes
15
Total pupils
89
100.0
Boys
56
62.9
Girls
33
37.1
Earlier surveys were conducted in 1979/80, see “Boarding School Pupils in Primary and Post-Primary Hebrew
Education, 1979/80”, Publication 110 in the series of Statistical Briefings on Education and Culture; in
1980/81, see “Boarding School Pupils in Post-Primary Hebrew Education”, Publication No. 124 in the series;
in 1984/85, 1986/87, and 1988/89, see Publication No. 193; in 1990/91, see Publication No. 201; in 1991/92,
see Publication No. 212; in 1992/93, see Publication No. 218; in 1993/94, see Publication No. 233; and in
1994/95, see Publication No. 13. With regard to the 1995/96 survey, see “Boarding Schools in Post-Primary
Educational Institutions in the Hebrew Education, 1995/96”, Current Statistics No. 8, 1997; as for the 1996/97
survey, see Current Statistics No. 40, 1998.
2
Secondary schools include four-year schools, as well as Grades 13 and 14 in schools that have these grades.
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B.
Method of Investigation and Response
In the 2001/02 survey of boarding schools in post-primary educational institutions, the
institutions indicating that they have a boarding school on their premises were asked to fill
out the questionnaire and provide details about the pupils residing in those facilities, by
different characteristics.
The survey questionnaire was sent to 1,447 institutions, which constitute all of the postprimary schools that were under the supervision of the Ministry of Education Culture and
Sport during the 2001/02 academic year. 1,219 institutions returned the survey questionnaire
(a 84% response rate). Of those, 283 institutions responded that they have a boarding school
and answered the questions relating to boarding schools. It is not unlikely that not all of the
institutions with a boarding school responded to the survey. All of the data in this study relate
only to institutions that returned the survey questionnaire.
C.
Main Findings
The survey is based on 283 boarding schools in post-primary education institutions under the
supervision of the Ministry of Education Culture and Sport. 40,392 pupils were enrolled in
these schools, the majority of whom (35,029 pupils, about 87% of all pupils in boarding
schools) were in secondary school.
The proportion of institutions with a boarding school in 2001/02 was 23.1%, which is lower
than the proportion of these institutions in previous years (see Diagram 1). The decline was
found both at the secondary school level (25.4% of the institutions in 2001/02, compared with
37.3% in 1996/97), as well as at the intermediate school level (13.1% in 2001/02, compared
with 19.0% in 1996/97).
DIAGRAM 1: PERCENTAGE OF INSTITUTIONS WITH A BOARDING SCHOOL
40
35
25
20
15
10
5
Survey year
Total
Intermediate School
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Secondary School
2001/02
1996/97
1995/96
1994/95
1993/94
1990/91
1988/89
1984/85
0
1979/80
Percentages
30
Similarly, in 2001/02 the percentage of pupils who reside in boarding schools, out of all
students in the post-primary education system, dropped to 8.4%, compared with 9.9% in
1996/97 (see Diagram 2). Here, too, the decline was found both at the secondary school
level (from 14.1% in 1996/97 to 12.2% in 2001/02), and at the intermediate school level (from
3.5% in 1996/97 to 2.8% in 2001/02).
DIAGRAM 2: PERCENTAGE OF PUPILS RESIDING IN BOARDING SCHOOLS,
OUT OF ALL STUDENTS
16
14
Percentages
12
10
8
6
4
2
Total
Intermediate School
2001/02
1996/97
1995/96
1994/95
Survey year
1993/94
1990/91
1988/89
1984/85
1979/80
0
Secondary School
The number of educational institutions with a boarding school was found to be particularly
high in the Jerusalem District (83 institutions), 23 more institutions than in 1996/97 (see
Table 2). Today, the largest number of educational institutions with a boarding school is
under ultra-orthodox supervision (149 institutions, about 53% of all institutions with a
boarding school). In contrast to the other supervision systems, where the number of
institutions with a boarding school has declined, the ultra-orthodox supervision system has
added 61 more institutions with a boarding school since 1996/97. During that period, the
number of pupils in boarding schools under ultra-orthodox supervision increased by 48%,
amounting to a total of 12,977 (see Table 3).
Pupils residing in boarding schools constitute 57.6% of all pupils enrolled in institutions with a
boarding school, since not all pupils enrolled in institutions with a boarding school actually
reside in the boarding school at the institution. The percentage of residents in the boarding
school out of all pupils in these institutions is particularly high in the ultra-orthodox system 78.5% (see Table 5). Additionally, this percentage is high at institutions in large cities (78.3%
in cities with a population of 200,000 inhabitants and over).
Even though the number of institutions with a boarding school increased from 241 in 1996/97
to 283 in 2001/02, the number of institutions with a boarding school for girls declined (from
43 to 39), as did the number of institutions with co-ed boarding (from 69 to 57). Thus, only
the number of institutions with a boarding school for boys increased during that period, from
129 in 1996/97 to 187 in 2001/02 (see Table 7).
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D.
Definitions and Explanations
Educational institution with a boarding school: An institution in which there are pupils
who reside at a boarding school on the premises of that institution.
In kibbutzim institutions with a boarding school were considered to be those in which
external pupils living at the kibbutz are enrolled in a regular program of education.
Enumeration of institutions by level of education in secondary schools: An institution in
which study programs are held at more than one level (i.e., intermediate school and
secondary school) is counted at each level, but is enumerated in the total count only once.
Therefore, the “total” is not always equivalent to the sum of the detailed breakdowns.
Enumeration of institutions and pupils by track of study: In the past, multi-track pupils
and institutions were counted under the category of “multi-track” in addition to being counted
under each of the corresponding tracks. In this publication, multi-track pupils and institutions
were counted only under the “multi-track” category, whereas all of those who appear in the
“general” or “technological/vocational” categories are in a single-track institution. Another
difference in comparison to previous surveys is that there is no longer an “agricultural” track,
and this track is now counted under the “technological/vocational” track.
District: The data by district in this publication relate to the district where the institution with
a boarding school is located, and not to the pupil’s district of residence. In the past, the Gaza
Area was included in the Southern District and Judea and Samaria were included in the
Central District and the Jerusalem District.
Type of locality: The data by type of locality in this publication relate to the locality where
the institution with a boarding school is located, and not to the pupil’s locality of residence.
Supervision or affiliation with religious education:
Supervision (in intermediate schools): state, state religious, ultra-Orthodox.
Affiliation with religious education (in secondary schools): general, religious under the
supervision of the Administration of Religious Education (ARE), ultra-Orthodox.
Both characteristics are presented as one variable, i.e., “supervision”.
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