1. Several weeks before the opening of the new school year; a glimpse at reality:

1. Construction and building:  The Follow-Up Committee’s investigation of 64 Arab localities yielded the following data:

·        a shortage of 1833 classrooms of which 707 preschool and kindergarten structures are lacking,  472 elementary classrooms, 639 middle school classrooms and 269 High School classrooms.

·        The shortage of 1833 classrooms amounts to more than 2218,519 square meters

·        The 2005 budget allocation will cover construction of 200 classrooms at the most, despite the fact that Arab education was promised an additional 400 classrooms during 2005 by the Ministry of Education. The amount allocated isn’t sufficient to cover the natural growth, special education and early education needs.

2. Safety and health hazards: A 60,000,000 shekel budget is essential for repairs in order to ensure the safety of Arab educational facilities for pupils use on September 1^st 2005.
3. The five year plan: must be extended in order to guarantee budgetary needs for Arab education.
4. The budget cut in study hours: All Arab secondary schools will be suffering from a cut in 2 hours per class and elementary schools from a 4.8% cut in the allocation of study hours – a decrease which will have severe implications on the entire Arab school system and especially on the quality of education and the achievements of pupils with special needs and those who come from low income families. 

2. The Implementation of the Dovrat Reform: The Ministry of Education selected 10 Arab localities for the implementation of the first stage of the Dovrat educational reform. The ministry’s criteria for its selection are not known and The Follow-Up Committee has the following reservations:

1. The first stage of implementation should have included Arab towns which expressed their willingness to take responsibility and participate including: Rahamt, Om-el Fahm, Nazareth, Sakhnin, and Tamra.
2. Prior to the implementation of the Dovrat reform it has been and will continue to be imperative to install the underlying infrastructure and to allocate the budgets necessary for this, in order for Arab schools to be suitable for longer school days, extra-curricular activities, serving lunch, giving assistance with homework assignments and more. Only measures such as these can ensure closing the gaps between Jewish and Arab education.
3. The Ministry of Education must take responsibility for and make the effort to reach agreement with the teacher’s organizations regarding the first stage of the implementation of the educational reform before September 1^st.

3. Early Education:

1. The first appeal is for the augmentation of The Law for free education for 3-4 year olds to include all localities defined as belonging to the 3^rd and 4^th echelons thus including these localities in the coming school year’s plan.
2. Budget allocation for constructing preschools and kindergartens must be accelerated; during the present year no construction took place with the exception of a few facilities in the Negev. This is particularly disturbing in light of the fact that 90% of Arab preschools are run in rented facilities.
3. The phenomenon of privatization of preschools in Arab society must be halted immediately on the ground that licensure, operation of and directing preschools are the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Culture and The Local Councils and this liability cannot be in the hands of organizations and companies whose sheer purpose is profit and not the best interest of the pupils. The Follow-Up Committee’s investigation carried out in 47 Arab localities generated the following data:
• 535 preschools are run by local councils and The Ministry of Education whereas 349 are run by private investors, organizations and companies. 416 compulsory kindergartens are run by local councils and The Ministry of Education whereas 30 are run by private organizations and schools.
• Equalitarian supervision hours for early education must be allocated to Arab education according to the Ministry of Education’s scale.

4. Education in the unrecognized Arab villages in the Negev: The most deprived population in Israel is the Arab residents of unrecognized villages in the Negev. This alone obligates The Ministry of Education, as well the additional ministries, to produce a detailed and well budgeted plan which relates to the formation of educational infrastructures, construction of schools and classrooms, preschools, high schools, free early education, special education, school assistance, dropout prevention, raising eligibility for matriculation exams, science and technological education and more.
5. The current lack of science and technological oriented education: requires an immediate and well budgeted plan for inclusion of science and technology tracks in Arab education. In order to compensate for the fact that this area of education has been severely neglected over the years, prestigious study streams with well equipped laboratories must be provided to facilitate increasing numbers of Arab students in this field.
6. Undoubtedly security measures must be taken in Arab schools on a comparable level to those taken in Jewish schools. Guarding and security in Arab education has been completely ignored and the complex socio-political reality clarifies the imminent need for an urgent and detailed plan for guard placement in all Arab educational institutions.

The List