Nearly two thirds of all students in private colleges in Israel come from well-off families, and 80 percent of them study law or business administration, according to an official report issued Sunday.

For the first time since the establishment of private colleges, the Planning and Budgeting Committee (Vatat) of the Council for Higher Education published data on institutions of higher learning that do not receive state funding.

Following a decision to lift limits on enrollment in private colleges, the numbers last years soared to 26,860. This translates to 41 percent of students enrolled in higher education in Israel.

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Haaretz recently published that the Council for Higher Education had decided to allow the establishment of 11 more private colleges. However, two weeks ago, under pressure from public institutions, and following the request of some of the council's members, a decision was made to freeze the planned expansion and reconsider all its aspects and implications in depth.

The data Vatat released on private colleges is meant to provide members of the Council for Higher Education with information, which will aid the deliberations.

Of the 11 requests for setting up colleges, six involve initiatives for new local institutions, while five are part of extensions of foreign universities.

Currently, there are 6,000 students studying in foreign extension programs - 60 percent of whom study business administration.

The foreign universities believe that if their extension programs are authorized to become private local colleges, enrollment will increase substantially.

Estimates hold that if the 11 colleges are allowed to proceed with their plans, the total number of students in Israel studying in private colleges will reach 51 percent of the overall student population in tertiary education.

Wealthier backgrounds
In both private and public colleges in Israel, the number of students from low-income families is small. Arab students constitute 1.5 percent of those enrolled in private colleges, and 3 percent of students in public colleges.

The majority of students in private colleges come from wealthier backgrounds, 65.5 percent, while the figures are reversed in public colleges.

In terms of the ratio of students to senior faculty, public colleges fare better: There are 38 students per senior faculty member in public colleges, whereas in private colleges that figure stands at 63 students per senior faculty member.

Most students attending private colleges study law or business administration. Some 50 percent of the students study law for their B.A., 30 percent study business administration, 17 percent study social sciences (mostly economics and communications) and 3 percent study computer science.

On the other hand, in public colleges, 38 percent of students study engineering and architecture, 27 percent study social sciences, 13 percent humanities and art, 10 percent business administration, and 7 percent study computer science or biological sciences.

In response to the data, sources in public colleges hinted that they are responsible for producing the technological backbone of the economy, while in their private counterparts, the graduates are mostly "lawyers and businessmen."

Professor Shosh Arad, who heads the Council of Presidents of Academic Colleges, said the problem is that the study of sciences is expensive and requires infrastructure, quality instruction, small teams of study and laboratories.

She points out that studies in law, business administration and communications could attract many more students because it is possible to teach the subjects in relatively large groups and the costs are lower.