The students are not right
Over the past 30 years, six committees have discussed the problem of funding for higher education. Since the Winograd Committee convened, seven years have passed, and new circumstances require new solutions.
Haaretz EditorialBeginning yesterday, the students are striking at all institutions of higher learning, demanding that the Shochat Committee on higher education reform be disbanded. This extreme step puts studies on hold for some 250,000 university and college students.
The Shochat Committee was established in November 2006, when institutions of higher learning were in a crisis. The trouble was two-pronged: a brain drain, with brilliant scholars leaving for institutions abroad where salaries and research budgets are greater; and the slashing of higher education budgets during the economic crunch of the second intifada. Over the past two years, part of the funding was restored, but since the number of students has also grown impressively, the budget per student has declined. Now the system is missing about NIS 1 billion compared with 2000, the apex in terms of higher education funding.
As a result of the crisis, the cabinet decided to establish the Shochat Committee, which was charged with examining the higher education system and proposing comprehensive solutions.
But the students are unimpressed that this is a respectable committee of some 50 members, mostly from academia. They want to torpedo its work even before its conclusions are published. In light of the difficult straits of the universities and colleges, clearly the state will have to increase higher education funding. However, it should be remembered that in the context of the desirable increase in the number of students, the demand for additional budgets will also increase, and government funding alone cannot meet all the needs. This is the basis for the Shochat Committee's recommendation that additional resources be obtained by raising tuition. The students are clinging to the Winograd Committee's 2000 conclusions that tuition be halved over a few years. Tuition did in fact decrease, but by only 26 percent; the students are now demanding a further cut.
But there is nothing sacred about the Winograd Committee recommendations. Over the past 30 years, six committees have discussed the matter. Since the Winograd Committee convened, seven years have passed, and new circumstances require new solutions.
Under the circumstances, it is right to raise tuition, which now stands at about NIS 9,000 a year. However, the increase must be accompanied by comprehensive assistance for those who cannot pay. This can be accomplished by extending government-subsidized student loans and offering scholarships.
The basic principle in any solution is that anyone who wants to obtain higher education should be able to get it. Poorer individuals should not be prevented from obtaining a degree due to tuition limitations. On the contrary, increase the number of students and curb the brain drain.
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The rule of thumb for economic comparisons of Israel to other countries is half the salary, twice the price. Regarding college tuition, the costs here are 7-10% of those in the US and some other countries. While we must invest in our children's education and there must be much, much more equity in enabling people to pursue higher education, I think the striking students should simply stop bitching and start studying!
If you want Israel to be even more materialistic, violent, wasteful & unequal than it already is, raise the tuition. If you want a socially caring & equalizing model, such as in Scandinavia, reduce tuitions. High school & university education suffer from disgraceful neglect & should receive more priority in this country. And I am sick & tired of hearing the ?lack of budget? explanation. Money definitely exists--it simply flows according to government priorities & (mis)management (as Haaretz?s article on Y. Zelekha, the ?state accountant,? so astutely revealed). If that isn?t enough, then, tax the rich (or just Shari Arison)! As it is, the country is becoming a playground of profit for the handful of families who own the country. The strike against raising the tuition is more than just a university issue; it is in fact part of the greater struggleto position the country somewhere in between the two extremes of swinish capitalism and Scandinavian egalitarianism. Students, take your pick.
where do u live taht you do not know about Grants? There are PLENTY OFFERED!!!! U just need to apply to them! It is also VERY easy for anyone to get a student loan to study! and its not THAT much money to pay back after u graduate! GIve me a break! I paid 10,000 nis for a year of classes...Id say thats a reasonable deal, Id rather have a renown professor teaching me and getting a good salary than some idiot whos there because tehy can't afford proper teachers! The again Is uppose due to the problem of secondary eduaction not teaching you anything...you would nt understand that basic principle!
an absurd solution? perhaps if yeshiva pupils didn't receive salaries for their time in school (yeshiva), or even had to pay funds for their tuition - the situation would be eased a little (not to mention fair)
40,000$ for American private university, i.e. any of the ones you have probably heard of, that have any respectable research initiative. For those that need it, they either take out loans, work, receive private scholarships, or obtain government aid (or a combination of any of the above). There are also state-funded schools that are cheaper for local residents. Point is: privatized education with government aid seems to be far more effective at granting more people more education while providing low-cost options than either full government education a la Europe or Israel or a fully privatized system.
josh, the normal tuition fee in the uk is about 1200 pound, same for eu citizens studying in the uk. apart from that, its very easy to get a reduction (i got 400 pounds deduction just by looking very exhausted), and u have a sure cheap room in dormitories for the first year. even cambridge and oxford dont take much more than that.
Boo Hoo! My husband and I were discussing his daughter who expects us to pay for her college after she spent a year traipsing around the world after her army duty. Kids in the US get jobs, loans, grants, etc. starting in high school to pay for college. And prices in the US are as high as $15,000 a year for public universities! Start working young to save up. Otherwise all this striking is going to do is give you experience to be a teacher in Israel. You want a quality edication, you pay for it.
I graduated from the TECHNION and then went on to UC Berkely for a Masters . Berkeley tuition in 1984 was US$19.000. took me 10 years to pay my student loan. The Technion education was far superior and at today's prices, a real bargain. Stop whining and get an education. You do not need a university degree, just look at Bill Gates example.
It's interesting that these probelms occur all over the world. Subsidized education is a subsidy for the middle and upper classes as the poor are too busy trying to scrape by to be bothered with higher education. Arguments to enable gifted poorer students should revolve arround grants not tuition costs. The increased salaries students see upon graduatuion (which are also related to the volume of students graduating for a given ammount of jobs) quickly compensate for the additional costs. So why should the proportion of the public who choose not to participate in post-secondary education pay for those that choose to do so? We have similar issues in Canada. Education seems to be a sacred cow. It does not dawn on people that universal access would dissolve any of the financial gains education would impart. The old saying goes: you get what you pay for.
You, Dona, are VERY far from the truth of student situations in Israel. 1. There is no system of student loans and grants in Israel - unless you are already so poor that bus fare is out of the question (then a small grant might be made). 2. One part time student job doesn't cover more than basic rations, a pen and a new notebook. Two jobs will cover rent and bus fare - three jobs are required to do the whole thing (tuition included). 3. There is almost no extracurricular life on Israeli campuses - for good reason - no one has the time or energy. I studied in Canada, the US and Israel. There IS NO comparison. My student years in Israel, as an Israeli, were the most difficult of my entire life. We may not be a rich country - but asking students to spend 4 to 6 years working 3 to 4 jobs to afford an education they can't stay awake to participate in - that's beyond stupid.
This is the minimum for UK and EU Students. Does not include books, or living expenses, just tuition fees ALONE. Foreign students tuition fees are much higher.
exactly, i pay a lot more than 9000 as well, without any support from the family (they cant), and in my part time job i make about 3000 a months, plus i dont have family here. try adding 25% to that, and my grades are definitely going to suffer.
I do not agree with you. Even at 15000 a year (including your books) that is cheap, I am comparing to what I paid nineteen years ago, I took out loans, had a few scholarships, worked at waitressing. Today tuition is much higher, and your statement about UK salaries. Students work the minimum wage scale, higher than here yes (40-50 a hour) but you forget the costs, Try London student living, it is expensive, as are most cities in the UK, you scrape by. The States is even more expensive. Jerusalem is a much cheaper to live in City. Students never have it easy unless they have rich parents.
number 5 is right - there are people that sacrifice 3 years of their life getting shot at risking their lives for the state - it is NOT unreasonable and NOT racist to allow the state to reward combat soldiers - such a program already exists in the United States - its called the GI bill. the Arabs have 3 options: a) fight Hamas terrorists instead of supporting them; OR b) go to University in one of their 22 brother nations. OR c) go to University in Europe.
students should bear the brunt of higher education costs, after all, they choose to buy the service in hopes of making more money later.
Yes, may be in the US or UK the tuition is higher, but in these countries I would not be spending 3 or more years of my life risking my life for several hundreds shekels. Israel is indebted to its youth and this would be a fine way to make it up for them. Besides, if foreign students are coming to Israel so much so better.
It sounds logical - higher tution but grants and loans for the non-rich. BUT - in this country the tuition will rise but the grants will somehow never materialize.
It sounds logical - higher tution but grants and loans for the non-rich. BUT - in this country the tuition will rise but the grants will somehow never materialize.
You shouldnt think about it this way - the slaraies in the UK are much higher than the salaries in Israel, besides... 9000 is just an estimate, my tuition for a whole year (not inculding books and what not) reach about 15000.
I do not understand this. If the students are fighting for lowering the tuition costs then they will only hurt themselves and education in general The cost of 9000 a year is really low. Try university costs in the UK or the States, a lot more. And no, it is not easier there, they do not have more money and take out loans, scholarships and whatever they can get, and of course work too. I meet a lot of students who come here because they could not afford the tuition costs in their home countries.