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Last update - 09:18 21/01/2008 New industrial dispute looms as lecturers end 90-day strike By Tamara Traubmann, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Israel, universities  The 2008-09 academic year will not be able take place if the Shochat Committee's proposed reform of the higher education system, which includes more government funding, is not implemented, the Council of University Presidents warned on Sunday. The cabinet has not yet approved the recommendations, and a lengthy strike by senior university lecturers ended over the weekend without the lecturers promising to accept those parts of the reform related to their terms of employment. Moreover, Education Minister Yuli Tamir announced Sunday that she opposes a key element of the reform: raising tuition. Thus, despite Finance Minister Roni Bar-On's insistence that the reform will be implemented, its fate remains highly uncertain. At a meeting of the university presidents on Sunday, council chair Prof. Moshe Kaveh said he "expects the cabinet to fulfill its promise to the council to adopt the Shochat report in January or February." Advertisement "If the report is not implemented, and the universities are deprived of the funding promised under the reform, this will deal a mortal blow to the universities, and the university presidents will not be able to begin the next academic year," he continued. "The present crisis [i.e. the lecturers' strike] is nothing compared to the expected crisis" if the Shochat reform is not implemented. The Shochat reform offers the universities an extra NIS 2.5 billion over the next five years, of which NIS 700 million would come from a tuition hike. Meanwhile, the current academic semester - which was originally slated to end around now - began Sunday, when the senior lecturers entered their classrooms for the first time since the strike began. However, little time remains to make up the three lost months. Some universities plan to solve the problem by making students attend senior lecturers' courses while simultaneously sitting for exams in courses given by junior faculty, who were not on strike. But students at Ben-Gurion University have already threatened their own strike if the university does not retract this decision, saying this leaves them no time to study for the exams. According to the revised schedule, the 2007-08 academic year will now end in July or August. That is two months before the start of the next academic year, which some lecturers said refutes the university presidents' assertion that the semester would have had to be canceled had the strike not ended last weekend. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Vision of cooperation Saudi prince says if Israel leaves Arab land, it could join the Arab world. At odds with PM Bolton says the final IDF op in Lebanon had no impact on UN truce talks.   1.   Academic funding: difficult evaluation 11:19  |  TEA 21/01/08

Today Online J'lem sources: Power shortage in Gaza worse than expected Responses: 69 Poll: Only 16% of Israelis back Diaspora input on fate of J'lem Responses: 22 Source: Israel won't free 2/3 of prisoners demanded by Hamas Responses: 10 Israel launches new satellite bolstering ability to spy on Iran Responses: 2 Gideon Levy: The mass killing in Gaza is just hurting both sides Responses: 7 Marek Halter: Mideast peace is inconveivable without Damascus Send response Editorial: Israel musn't give in to Nasrallah's provocations Send response Rosner's Domain Domain's guest: Americans must help improve Israel's education system Why Huckabee worries the Jewish voter 67% of Nevada Jews voted for Clinton Meadow Soprano is more proud of Israel than the US (WTR) Blog & Poll: Can Joe Lieberman convince Jews in Florida to vote for McCain? More Headlines 11:10 Satellite launch bolsters ability to spy on Tehran 11:37 Security officials: Gaza power shortage worse than expected 08:35 Source: Israel won't free 2/3 of prisoners Hamas wants released 05:08 Poll: Only 16% of Israelis back Diaspora input on fate of J'lem 09:19 IDF officer lightly wounded, militant killed in Tul Karm raid 01:58 Bolton: Final IDF op in Lebanon had no impact on UN truce talks 06:16 PM works to pre-empt Labor revolt ahead of Winograd report 04:48 Holocaust survivor kills wife in botched suicide pact 09:18 New industrial dispute looms as lecturers end 90-day strike Previous Editions Select Day 20 jan 18 jan 17 jan 16 jan 15 jan 14 jan 13 jan 11 jan 10 jan 09 jan 08 jan 07 jan

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