Naftali Bennett. Photo: Mati Milstein / The Israel Project via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israel’s Education Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday unveiled a new comprehensive national program for teaching high-level English in Israeli schools.

The program, dubbed “Give Me Five,” aims to make English accessible to all Israeli students and will run in primary schools, junior high schools and high schools.

“From the coming year, the education system will be translated into spoken English, such that we have formulated the ‘Give Me Five’ program, which will be introduced into schools in the coming academic year,” said Bennett. “In today’s global world, this program is of crucial importance to the future of our children.”

“Bottom line: Every girl and boy in Israel needs to know how to conduct a conversation in high-level English, to write, and to read. It’s not a luxury; this is a vital need in 2017,” he said.

The program will see an additional 1,000 teachers hired from within Israel and abroad, as well as the addition of 950 assistant teachers who are fluent in English.

The $19 million plan will be implemented by 2020, and aims to boost the number of Israeli students graduating from high school with advanced English from 62 percent to 70 percent.

A pilot version of the program was launched with 350 students last year, and this year the program will be expanded to include 1,500 students.