Central Regulation Versus Institutional Autonomy: Reforms in the Israeli Higher Education System

Abstract

Israel's Planning and Grants Committee (PGC) was established in 1974 by the government as the planning and executive arm of the Council for Higher Education (CHE). Before its establishment, the government, through the Ministry of Finance, was involved directly in financing each higher education institution individually. Since the PGC's establishment the government withdrew gradually from its direct involvement in higher education except for determining its total annual allocation to the system to be channelled through the PGC. In a similar development, the universities have ceded to the authority of the PGC not only in fiscal matters, but also in planning and development. Thus, the PGC has become the most powerful organization in higher education. Its power in determining the budget of each institution and its planning and evaluation functions have limited considerably institutional autonomy in these areas. The aim of this study is an analytical exposition of the processes which have transformed Israeli higher education from an autonomous decentralized system toward centralization. Specific problems, challenges, and exigencies confronting higher education in Israel will be discussed in the light of similar developments in other higher education systems.