The Council for Higher Education on Tuesday postponed a decision on whether to license additional private colleges in Israel.

Eleven private colleges had applied for permits, of which about half are new institutions and the other half are overseas universities seeking recognition as Israeli schools.

If all 11 requests were approved, more than half of all Israeli colleges and universities would thereafter be private institutions.

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Currently, there are 18 public colleges and universities and nine private ones.

Education Minister Yuli Tamir, who chairs the Council for Higher Education, argued that in light of the complaints from public universities, no new private colleges should be licensed until a thorough study of the implications of such a move is conducted.

The public universities charged that the CHE has been licensing private schools that do not meet the council's own criteria, and also claimed that too many private schools would leave the public ones unable to compete for teachers and students.

Tamir added that in general, "I oppose private education, but I understand that there are governmental promises that must be kept."

She was referring to a 2005 law that stated that degrees from local branches of overseas universities would not entitle public-sector employees to a raise, as degrees from Israeli institutions do, but also authorized such branches to apply for recognition as Israeli schools if they meet the CHE's criteria.