Real Sciences: A billion shekels allocated, but it is unclear what will happen with them
The government has declared a state of emergency in STEM studies and allocated about 1.5 billion shekels to the program. The program has already begun to operate, but parts of it are outside the scope of monitoring. The "Monitor" section of Globes and the Center for Citizen Empowerment is tracking the "Real Israel" program.
About the Monitor
The "Monitor" section of Globes and the "Center for Citizen Empowerment" provides the public with civil oversight of the implementation, or non-implementation, of government decisions and legislation, and is based on the work of the Center's researchers and the Globes editorial staff. The Center for Citizen Empowerment (CECI) is a non-profit organization operating since 2003 that deals with the executive capabilities of the public sector. The section is published every two weeks.
How we checked
The Center for Citizen Empowerment is a civil society organization working to increase executive capacity in the public sector and strengthen trust between the government and citizens. The "Monitor" project is the primary means for this goal.
"Monitor" tracks and monitors the implementation of government decisions in light of the values of accountability and transparency, with the aim of optimizing government work in Israel and pointing out the gap between the declaration and the setting of government policy and its actual execution. Investigators analyze the barriers and enablers for each decision by reading open sources such as protocols, legislation databases, government reports, and State Comptroller reports.
Criteria for choosing decisions for monitoring
-
Decisions on social and economic issues, chosen after discussion with government, academic, and civil society officials.
-
Operational government decisions.
-
Strategic decisions with high budget or extensive impact on Israeli citizens.
-
Complex government decisions involving several government ministries.
-
Mature decisions (at least a year has passed since they were accepted).
"Real Israel": The performance test
The school year began on Tuesday, and with it began the performance test of one of the education system's flagship programs: "Real Israel," the national emergency program to strengthen the study of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
More than a year after the government announced the move, the implementation picture is beginning to clear up. On one hand, it is no longer just a decision on paper: budgets have been allocated, frameworks expanded, teachers recruited, and monitoring mechanisms established. On the other hand, in a significant part of the clauses, the most basic information is still missing — what was done, in what scope, and whether the moves on the ground are really bringing the education system closer to the goals it set for itself.
Attacking in several directions
In April 2025, the government approved Decision 2983, "Real Israel" — a multi-year program designed to deal with what was defined as a national emergency in STEM subjects. In the background stood a sharp decline in the achievements of Israeli students in the TIMSS 2023 tests: 8th-grade students dropped by 32 points in mathematics and science, effectively returning to levels measured in 2007.
The program was allocated a budget framework of about 1.485 billion shekels for the years 2025-2028. The goal was not only to add hours or open tracks, but to build a national infrastructure that would treat the problem from several directions simultaneously: from kindergarten to high school.
Exiting the declaration stage
The program did indeed exit the declaration stage, but most of its components have not yet been completed. Out of 28 operational clauses that were examined, 2 were fully implemented, 3 are in execution, 15 were partially implemented, and in 8 there was not enough information to determine a status. That is, in 71% of the clauses, at least some degree of implementation was found.
Suffering from a lack of transparency
Alongside the progress, several key components still suffer from a lack of transparency or lack of information. The "Real Israel" program appears in the work plans of the Ministry of Education, but the detailed plans required in the decision — including milestones and budgetary breakdown — were not published and were not provided as part of the monitoring. Also regarding the new positions that are supposed to reinforce the STEM system, it was not reported how many were approved and how many were filled.
The real test
One of the advantages of the program is the inclusion of measurement and evaluation mechanisms: dashboards for tracking goals, multi-year accompanying academic research, and a National STEM Council. The research, which was allocated up to 4 million shekels for four years, is supposed to check not only if the decision clauses were executed, but if they actually improve teaching and learning.
As of now, it is a test of the ability of the government and the education system to manage a complex national program over time: not only to announce, budget, and start, but also to measure, report, adjust, and ensure that the change reaches the places where it is needed most.
