Tel Aviv University's school of dentistry, under threat of closure for several years, will remain open after an agreement was reached Monday between the school and the government.

The school's future has been uncertain due to budgetary problems. The new agreement includes a significant reduction in the school's operating budget, and many of its activities will be financed by a commercial clinic to be opened at the site.

The university says that the high cost of running a medical school led to an annual budget deficit of NIS 10-15 million for the dentistry school.

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In the past three years, the university has continued to teach the basics of medicine, but discontinued enrolment for clinical dentistry studies.

The president of Tel Aviv University, Professor Itamar Rabinovich, said Monday that the agreement means a cut in faculty from the equivalent of 38.5 positions to 14 or 15. The rest of faculty will be employed under a structure similar to that of the medical school.

Under the new structure, lecturers will be employed by the university, but receive their salaries from the revenue brought in by the new commercial clinic. The university will continue to provide the same benefits to faculty staff, such as sabbaticals and travel expenses.

The school of dentistry at present operates a non-commercial clinic staffed by students practising their dentistry, and is supervised by dentistry school staff. The commercial clinic will replace the existing facility and will be staffed by salaried dentists.

The school will also receive a one-off grant of several million shekels from the planning committee of the Council for Higher Education in Israel. The exact amount, which will help cover the school's deficit, has yet to be determined.