The National Students Union announced Monday evening that it is rejecting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's proposal, according to which the recommendations of the Shochat Committee will only be implemented two years from now.

According to the Students Union chairman, the offer is an "insulting agreement that reflects the government's attitude towards the student population."

Student representatives on Sunday evening met with Olmert's representatives, who presented them a compromise offer. According to the offer, the recommendations of the Shochat Committee on a new layout for tuition fees will only be implemented in the 2008-2009 school year and will not affect students currently studying.

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The document presented to the students even included a commitment by the government to return the fund that were cut from the higher education budget- one of the central demands in the students' campaign.

In Sunday night's meeting, the students demanded that changes to tuition fees be coordinated with students and win their consent, as was determined in the students' agreement with lecturers on changes to tuition signed some two weeks ago.

The prime minister's representatives agreed to delay the implementation of the Shochat recommendations by two years. As reported in Haaretz, the committee is expected to recommend that tuition fees be raised and complemented by a loan and grant mechanism. They have yet to reach a final agreement on the new rate for tuition or on the manner in which the financial aid mechanism will operate.

According to National Students Union Chairman Itai Barda, the union rejected the proposal not only because it does not address the students' demand for tuition to be decreased, but also because it mandates the full implementation of Shochat Committee's proposed reform, which Barda says "will lead to the privatization of the higher education system and will hard underprivileged students."

"We will intensify our struggle- we will take to the streets together with the movements that will take to the streets following the Winograd Committee's conclusions," Barda said. "We will bring our parents, siblings and friends out to the streets with us and demand of those who have failed in Lebanon to not fail on education, as such a failure would lead to their dismissal by the public."

Education Minister Yuli Tamir expressed her sorrow that the students rejected the offer, saying that "ultimately, it is important that they join discussions. The students will miss out if the process ends without them being a part of it."