Entitlement to education: Fairness analysis

Entitlement to education is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledges education as a fundamental right stating that everyone has the right to education. The question of financing this right mainly focuses on the governmental allocation of resources to the educational system, as public schools are majorly financed by the government. However, in recent years, there is an incremental trend of supplements to government resources allocated to schools by nongovernmental actors. This paper aims to investigate the question of entitlement focusing on the local authorities’ allocation to schools, using Israel as a case study. The fairness analysis conducted using various statistical measurements, developed in the school finance policy literature, reveals that the level of equity at both the input and output sides of the educational process is rather low. Additionally, comparing fairness analysis of 2 years’ data (that of 2006 and 2011) before and after the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) elections and the school finance policy reform (both on 2009) reveals that equity is on the decline trend. Aiming at a potentially more successful implementation of fairness, an alternative policy is discussed, taking into account both improvement and compensation elements. The implications concern all other countries with diverse populations who strive for fairness and aim at improving their educational achievement distribution via more effective policy.