Students gear up to protest planned 70 percent hike in tuition fees
After a 41-day student strike that ended in May, Shochat Committee to recomment raising tuition to NIS 14,800.
By Tamara TraubmannStudents are gearing up for a demonstration this Monday outside a scheduled Tel Aviv press conference, at which Avraham Shochat will present his committee's recommendations for reforms to Israel's higher education system.
As reported in Haaretz Wednesday, the committee is expected to recommend raising tuition some 70 percent, to NIS 14,800. Part would be due at the start of the school year, with the rest to be paid in monthly installments that could be spread over several years.
The committee will also recommend that NIS 1.5 billion in government funds be transfered to higher education, and that the budgets of higher-education institutions be increased by another billion shekels generated by the tuition hike and internal resources. The research budget would grow by some NIS 800 million.
This Monday, Shochat will submit the complete report to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Education Minister Yuli Tamir, who appointed the committee in 2006. Its recommendations require government approval.
Following the 41-day student strike that ended in May, Olmert undertook to negotiate with the students before the government discusses the recommendations.
"In the meantime, we are waiting patiently to be summoned for talks with the prime minister," said Tomer Oved, head of the Israeli Students Organization, which represents students at the country's colleges. "We want to see the overall outline of the tuition in the official publication, but obviously we will not consent to a sweeping rise in tuition. We are ready for action, and we have the troops to take to the streets."
Other student representatives were more blunt. "As was clear from the start, the reform, which was formulated without the participation of lecturers and students, will make education less accessible to broad segments of society and will not resolve the problems from which academia is suffering," read a statement by Kibbutzim College of Education students, who are organizing Monday's protest with students from other institutions.
A spokesman for the committee, Eli Shaked, suggested waiting for Monday and not relying on incomplete newspaper reports. According to Shaked, one of the committee's main goals is to increase accessibility to higher education, so that socioeconomic status does not prevent any young person from studying wherever and whatever he chooses.
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Education Minister Yuli Tamir. (Kobi Gideon) |
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I am a Norwegian living in Tel Aviv. In my country we have a state own bank where we can apply for a student loan plus get some "free" money. In one school year you can get up to $10000 in total, i think you get 20% of this for free. If u pass your exams some of it will be converted to "free money" as a reward. You can apply for this for 8 years, during the years of study you do not pay anything to the bank or any intrest. 7 months after end studies you start to pay back the money and then a 4-5% intrest starts to run on the loan. You pay back this loan 4 times a year and the amount depends on the total loan you have and maximum over 20 or 25 years. I think this is a good solution for the student and the government, the student will have money, do not need rich parents and the government will get more money back...
In Australia, university and college fees are not for free, but students are provided the opportunity to join an approved higher education institution for free, whilst having to pay back the government for their tuition fees as an additive to their tax fees once they have found employment. Usually it will take a few years to pay off the loan, and is employment dependent. The loan I believe is interest free, but linked to the Australian CPI. The advantage of this system is that it allows students of all economic backgrounds to get a higher degree if they choose to do so. Israel should consider a similar program.
How will the proposed budget increase (I doubt that much of this will materialize) affect the regional colleges and the teacher colleges? Will they benefit too, or will the money be given only to the universities. Ha'aretz has preferred sensationalism to accuracy.