Zionist/Jewish Schools, Hebrew public education system in Palestine before 1948 (Nakba), British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 655. Chapter XVI: Social Services : Section 2: Description of Education Systems

CHAPTER XVI.

Jewish schools.

(a) THE HEBREW PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.

79. The administration of the Jewish Agency school system devolved as from the beginning of the school year 1932/33 upon the Jewish Community of Palestine as organised by Rules made in 1927 under the Religious Communities Organisation Ordinance, 1926. A small Executive Education Committee was set up for the Administration of the system consisting of representatives of the Jewish Agency, the Vaad Leumi, the Municipality of Tel Aviv and the settlements which have schools other than those of the Jewish Labour Federation. A representative of the Government Department of Education attends the meetings of the Committee, and all important matters, such as the annual budget and teachers' appointments, are submittal for the approval of Government. The actual administration is carried out by the Vaad Leumi Department of Education, which includes, besides the Director, a staff of 22 inspectors and assistants.

80. The school system of the Vaad Leumi must be clearly distinguished as in two parts, the elementary school system directly administered and financed by the Va'ad in collaboration with Local Authorities and a large number of secondary (including technical) schools which are under some supervision of the Vaad but receive little aid and are, strictly speaking, private. In 1943/44 the Department controlled under both the above heads 483 schools with over 73,000 pupils, being roughly three-quarters of all Jewish pupils in that year.

81. This double system loosely called of the Va'ad Leumi schools is classified vertically into three “Trends" : "General", "Mizrahi" and "Labour", the General schools including about 52% of the pupils. They all impart, in addition to Hebrew, instruction in general subjects. In the Mizrahi schools, more stress is laid on religious instruction and observance, while in the Labour schools, which are chiefly to be found in the newer settlements, emphasis is laid on agriculture and manual training, and as regards method the tendency is towards self-government and individual work.

(b) ELEMENTARY EDUCATION.

82. Practically all Jewish children receive some elementary education, and the majority attend schools controlled by the Va'nd Leumi.

Schooling normally begins in the Kindergarten. Kindergartens Corm a prominent feature of the system, and serve a useful purpose in enabling children whose home language is not Hebrew to spend

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