Government report: the number of Ethiopian-Israeli teachers rose from 709 to 1,180 in four years — and in non-formal education some of the numbers fell

What this report is

"The government programme for the integration of Ethiopian-Israelis — activity summary report for 2023-2024," published by the Unit for the Integration of Ethiopian-Israelis in the Prime Minister's Office in January 2026.

The programme has run continuously since the end of 2016. The basis for the years in question is government decision 787 of 17.7.2023, alongside continuation decision 3243 of 15.7.2025.

The report opens with two caveats of its own: the war broke out a few months after decision 787 and forced rapid adjustments; and in addition, an across-the-board 8% cut to the budget of government decisions in 2024 forced revisions and re-prioritization.

The standout number: teachers

The target in decision 787 was increasing the number of Ethiopian-Israeli teaching staff by 60 each year.

	2020	2024
Ethiopian-Israeli teachers employed in the education system	709	1,180
Teaching staff in management and coordination roles	99 (2021)	137

The report concludes: "in the number of Ethiopian-Israeli teachers there is an average increase of more than 100 teachers per year between 2020 and 2024, in a manner that meets and even exceeds the target set in the government decision."

The programmes behind that number, with participant counts: grants for students — 323 (fully implemented); an incentive to encourage training for teaching science and English — 31 (fully implemented); college coordinator — 14; national coordinators — 2.

Academic achievement — the central target was met

The target in decision 787: reaching 58% eligibility for matriculation meeting the university threshold by 2024/25, at a pace of +2% a year, and a 1% annual rise in certificates of excellence.

Target	2020	2024
Eligible for a matriculation certificate	71.69%	77.48%
Eligible for matriculation meeting the university threshold	50.54%	59.89%
Eligible for a certificate of excellence	1.59%	2.93%
Identified gifted and outstanding pupils studying in dedicated frameworks	81	349
Ethiopian-Israeli pupils in excellence programmes	1,796	2,935

59.89% in 2024 is above the 58% target set for 2024/25. The number of identified gifted pupils studying in dedicated frameworks grew more than fourfold.

Source: Summary report of the government programme for the integration of Ethiopian-Israelis 2023-2024, Prime Minister's Office, January 2026 (PDF) · verified September 2026.

A note on comparison: the numbers here are the government programme's own measures, and they are not identical to the CBS figures we reviewed in our article on the education data — there, for 2023/24, the figures are 76.2% eligibility and 57.0% meeting the threshold requirements. The definitions and the populations measured are not the same. Do not mix the two series.

And what fell

In the same report, in the Society and Youth Administration's chapter, three measures fell relative to 2019:

Target	2019	2024
Children participating in enrichment classes	4,800	3,450
Participants in youth movements and organizations	8,600	9,525
Gap-year (shnat sherut) volunteers	88	54
Participants in half-year pre-military academies	220	126

Youth movements rose. Enrichment classes fell by 28%, the service year by 39%, and the pre-military academies by 43%.

The report does not attribute these declines to any particular cause. The two contexts it does give — the war and the across-the-board 8% cut — appear at the head of the report and are relevant here. We will not draw a causal line from them that the report itself does not draw.

The full performance measures for the Ministry of Education's programmes: "Maftechot" (subsidized enrichment classes for grades 1–6) — 3,450; school-based preparation for meaningful service — 683; municipal preparation — 549; young leadership development — 303 (0.84% of the population); youth movements and organizations — 9,525 (1.37%); scholarships for pre-military academies and the service year — 296.

The budget was in fact used

Budget utilization at the Ministry of Education: 96% in 2023, 97% in 2024. The report notes that most ministries maintained a high level of budget utilization, the Ministry of Education among them. The Ministry of Education also runs the largest number of programmes within the programme — 9.

That matters for reading the declines above correctly: this is not a case of a budget left unspent.

Sources

The government programme for the integration of Ethiopian-Israelis — activity summary report 2023-2024, Prime Minister's Office, January 2026 (PDF) — read 8.9.2026
Government decision 787 of 17.7.2023, and continuation decision 3243 of 15.7.2025 (both cited in the report)
The CBS education data — our article
The employment chapter of the same report — our article