Operating the Counseling and Support System (Ma’atefet) of the Student Authority of the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption
The project is conducted by the Society for Advancement of Education, Jerusalem (SAE), for the Student Authority of the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption
Ma’atefet – Counseling and Support System for Immigrant Students
Goals of Ma’atefet
- Assisting immigrant students to learn in the best possible conditions and to successfully complete their studies to receive a degree/certificate.
- Encourage immigrant students to become familiar with the country, strengthen their feeling of belonging to Israeli society and culture.
- Empower immigrant students to fulfill their potential while bridging gaps in language, culture, immigration crises, economic difficulties and more.
- Provide tools for integrating into the society both during their studies and for suitable future employment.
Ma’atefet Services for Immigrant Students
- Personal support – counseling and personal accompaniment from field staff, counselors who are students themselves, who are spread through academic institutions throughout the country. The counselors are in ongoing contact with the immigrant students and are a significant resource for every need.
- Academic support – The goal of the academic assistance is to assist the students in successfully coping with the academic assignments and to give the student the tools to succeed in exams and complete his/her studies. The academic assistance includes financial support for academic assistance through the learning institutions.
- Therapeutic support – The immigrant student community faces three different kinds of crises simultaneously: the crisis of immigration; questions of identity that characterize young people in general; and challenges of entering an academic system. As a response to these challenges, the project operates a service for private therapy with social workers.
- Social support – In the framework of Ma’atefet, students participate in social events, educational and values based activities that constitute a framework for creating a group to which they belong, familiarity with the country and a network of peers.
- Shahak – The Community Social Service Program is a volunteer program for students. The program is intended to enable the students to get to know other aspects of Israeli society up close, to be exposed to populations in need, to create a process of change in status from a new immigrant to an active contributor to Israeli society.