The Shochat Committee's report on higher education reforms is to recommend that tuition be raised by about 70 percent, to NIS 14,800, and that the higher education budget increase by NIS 2.5 billion over five years, according to senior committee members.

The report is due to be submitted Monday to the cabinet, which must approve the recommendations before they can be implemented.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Education Minister Yuli Tamir said in May, in the wake of a 41-day student strike protesting the recommendations, that they would discuss the committee's findings with student associations before the cabinet votes on them.

	Advertisement

Senior university officials said over the past few days they were happy with the recommendation to increase the higher education budget, but college and university students have warned that they will not stand for a tuition hike.

Only NIS 1.5-1.6 billion of the total budget increase will come from the government, according to the committee. The rest will come from the tuition hike and sources within the higher education establishment. The proposed increase follows a NIS 1.2 billion cut to the higher education budget.

The committee is recommending that students be charged between NIS 4,000 and NIS 6,000 up front at the beginning of the academic year, while the rest can be paid off in monthly installments that could also be defrayed by a loan. The recommendations include significantly increasing the budget for loans and scholarships. The tuition hike would not apply to the coming academic year.

Research funding will increase by NIS 800 million and the Israel Science Foundation will receive NIS 500 million, double its current budget, if the reforms are implemented. The committee is also calling for the establishment of a biomedical research foundation, half of whose funding would come from the higher education budget and half from outside donors. The committee is also recommending the establishment of a NIS 15 million fund for the humanities and increased scholarships for doctoral and post-doctoral students.

However, the committee recommends that, unlike universities, colleges not receive government funding for setting up a physical infrastructure to conduct research.

The Shochat Committee, headed by former finance minister Avraham Shochat, was appointed by the government in 2006 to examine the higher education system and recommend changes. Committee members include Education Minister Yuli Tamir and senior university professors, as well as representatives from the treasury, Prime Minister's Office and Council for Higher Education.

Faculty and student organizations have criticized the committee, while university administrators have welcomed it. Last year the university presidents said if the government doesn't restore the budget cuts, the universities would not be able to maintain the same academic standards and would therefore have to close for the next school year.