Provision of public educational services and access to higher education among the negev bedouin arabs in israel

This paper deals with the provision of educational services and access to higher education of the Negev Bedouin Arabs in Israel, in the context of the social change this community is undergoing. The Negev Bedouin have been transformed from semi‐nomads and agriculturists to urban town dwellers. Education in general, and higher education in particular, are crucial to their adjustment and development. As members of the Arab minority in Israel, they face a number of inequities in the provision of educational services, access to higher education and access to job opportunities. The Negev Bedouin schools face additional problems related to the lack of qualified teachers and proper facilities. These schools have the highest drop‐out rates and the poorest success rates on the matriculation exams in the country. As of the 1993‐94 academic year, there were only 135 Bedouin Arab university graduates and 163 university students. Their higher education ratio is 2 per 1000, which is far below the Israeli national average of 80 per 1000. Recommendations are offered for improving the access of Negev Bedouin Arabs to higher education and their subsequent absorption into the Israeli labour market.