Olmert pledges to freeze tuition fees

Prime minister proposed agreement aimed at brining aimed to students' strike

Reuters | Published: 04.30.07, 19:08

The National Student Union convened Monday afternoon in order to discuss an agreement proposed by representatives of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Negotiations that began on Sunday between the university students, Olmert’s representatives, and Education Minister Yuli Tamir, continued well into the night, in an attempt to end the three-week-long strike.

“Olmert calls on the students to end the strike immediately, and to come together in an effort to strengthen the higher education system,” the drafted agreement says.

According to the agreement, Olmert restated his commitment to providing additional resources to the higher education system, but did not specify a budget. The prime minister added that the cuts to the budget made since 2000 will be returned on condition that the Shochat Committee's conclusions are implemented in full.

Olmert offered the students to form a team that would examine recommendations for improving the quality of teaching and upgrading the service package to students.

In the proposed agreement, the government vows not to raise the tuition fee next year. Regarding the year after that, the government pledges that any student who registers that year will pay the same tuition until he or she graduates.

'Not a real solution'

The students were promised that the recommendations of the Shochat Committee will only go into effect in three-year's time. The students will be given a period of two weeks to formulate their position regarding the committee's conclusions, and will also get a chance to meet with the prime minister and the education minister to discuss them.

The education minister's office said in response, "This agreement was formulated in an attempt to bring an end to the strike and have the students return to study. The students will be partners in increasing the accessibility to higher education and improving the services given to students."

The heads of the students' struggle refused to comment on the proposed agreement, but some sources involved in the negotiations said they were not pleased with it. "This is an empty agreement that offers no real solution… the agreement does not present a comprehensive solution for the crisis in higher education," they said.