A new paper by Professor Yuval Sinai was published in the quarterly journal HaShiloach, detailing his proposal to reform the oversight system of Israeli academia in a way that allows for better governance while at the same time, lessens bureaucracy and encourages competition.

The paper begins with a review of the current model and points out its failings: lack of governance, excessive bureaucracy, the problematic composition of the governing bodies (the Council for Higher Education and the Planning and Budgeting Committee), discrimination against colleges as compared to universities, and a problematic budget model.

Professor Sinai then conducts comparative research of other models around the world: the federal-decentralized model in the US and Germany; the centralized model in Japan and Singapore; and the mixed model in the UK.

The paper closes with a detailed proposal for reform that includes reducing bureaucracy and the Council’s oversight authorities, adapting the British model to Israel, and introducing a new model for regulating the activities of unsubsidized academic institutions.

The paper aims primarily to alert elected officials, policymakers, senior academics, and public figures to the existence of serious failures in the regulation of higher education in Israel; to present the models currently existing in various countries around the world; and to propose the broad strokes of several recommendations for a much needed reform in Israel’s higher education system. This in the hopes this leads to practical discussions among decision-makers, Knesset committees, and the Council for Higher Education, who should work to wisely adapt the higher education system to the current era and the appropriate existing models, and set goals for the system that suit the needs of the economy, society, and nation, for the good of the country.

An English version will be published soon

For the full Hebrew paper