The Pre-Academic Preparatory Program (Mechina)
להרשמהAbout
The Mechina Program at Sakhnin College aims to make higher education accessible to high school graduates from among the Arab population in Israel, including those who completed less than 12 years of schooling. Its purpose is to give a second chance to those with potential who aspire to acquire an academic education and who, for various reasons, still need to complete their high-school education or who wish to improve their chances of being admitted to desirable fields of study.
The Mechina Program opened its doors in 2009 and, until recently, was the only pre-academic Mechina Program in Arab society recognized by the Ministry of Education and the Council for Higher Education. Upon completion of their studies in the program, graduates are awarded a diploma replacing the matriculation certificate. Successful completion of the year-long or semester tracks entitles one to further studies towards a B.Ed., and many of the programs’ graduates continue to academic studies, whether at the college itself or other institutions of higher education.
Annual designated track:
Humanities and
Social Sciences
9 months
Semester designated track:
Humanities and
Social Sciences
4.5 months
Pre-designated track:
Humanities and
Social Sciences
3 months
(incld. Meimad entry exam)
Advantage
The program’s most significant advantage is that it is a corrective framework that manages to bridge educational gaps that may have arisen in high school, provide a common basis for all beginning students, and contribute to strengthening abilities and maximizing learning potential. The program constitutes a second chance in that it gives students an experience of success and confidence in their ability to integrate into the academic world and succeed in it.
Beyond reducing the educational gap, the Mechina Program at Sakhnin College also has a stated social goal: to reduce social gaps and to integrate students from low socio-economic backgrounds into the higher education circle. Therefore, in recent years the program has expanded by creating additional studies promoting tracks in subjects in the social sciences.
The studies within the program take place in an ecological, organic, and cultural environment that suits its students’ backgrounds and provides them, in addition to the educational training, with a variety of tools, including workshops to deal with exam anxiety, empowerment, raising awareness of personal resources and how to utilize them, in addition to increasing one’s presence and strengthening interpersonal communication.
Sakhnin College provides students of the Mechina Program with a holistic and comprehensive support system. Along with remedial and reinforcement classes in the core subjects (in small groups or individually), this system also includes administrative assistance from the director, counselor, and Mechina coordinator, as well as pedagogical assistance from the teaching coordinator, the subjects’ coordinators, and a team of experienced lecturers. The students also have an extensive and rich library, computer rooms with over 300 workstations, video filming and editing rooms, a pedagogical center, and more.
In addition, the college offers tuition scholarships of up to 100% based on socioeconomic status and support of up to 300% in living expenses scholarships.
The pre-academic preparatory program at Sakhnin College has changed the destiny of hundreds of young men and women who today have academic degrees, work as teachers, and are also valuable citizens who contribute to the advancement of their communities in particular and society in general.
Program dates:
Annual Designated Track: Humanities and Social Sciences, 9 months
Requirements for participation:
– Have 12 years of schooling and pass the threshold exam
– Have partial or complete matriculation and pass the threshold exam
– Have graduated from a pre-designated track and pass the threshold exam
| Units (U) /
Credit Points (CP) |
Weekly hours | |
| Core subjects | ||
| Mathematics | 3 / 4 (U) | 10 |
| English | 4 (U) | 8 |
| Academic Reading and Writing Skills | 5 (U) | 8 |
| Academic courses | ||
| Education and Empowerment | 1 (CP) | 1 |
| Introduction to Sociology | 1 (CP) | 1 |
| Introduction to Educational Psychology | 1 (CP) | 1 |
| Digital Tools | 1 (CP) | 1 |
| Arabic Language | 2 (CP) | 2 |
| Mathematics | 18 / 19 (U, CP) | 32 |
Program dates:
October to June or February to September.
Semester designated track: Humanities and Social Sciences, 4.5 months
Requirements for participation:
Be eligible for a matriculation certificate with an average lower than the threshold necessary for the college.
| Units (U) /
Credit Points (CP) |
Weekly hours | |
| Core subjects | ||
| Mathematics | 3 / 4 (U) | 10 |
| English | 4 (U) | 10 |
| Academic Reading and Writing Skills | 5 (U) | 9 |
| Academic courses | ||
| Education and Empowerment | 1 (CP) | 1 |
| Digital Tools | 1 (CP) | 1 |
| Arabic Language | 2 (CP) | 1 |
| Total | 18 / 19 (U, CP) | 32 |
Program dates:
October to February or February to June.
Pre-designated track: Humanities and Social Sciences, 3 months (including the “Meimad” entry exam).
Requirements for participation:
– Have less than 12 years of schooling
– Have 12 years of schooling or partial matriculation with a deficient level of academic literacy.
| Core subjects | Weekly Hours |
| Mathematics | 6 |
| English | 6 |
| Meimad Entry exam | 12 |
| Empowerment and Exam-Anxiety Workshop | 2 |
| Total | 26 |
Program dates:
Pre-designated track for Mechina students who wish to continue to an annual designated track starting in October
July to September or August to October
Pre-designated track for Mechina students who want to continue to an annual designated track starting in February
September to November or October to December, or November to January.