Tuition to increase by 6%

Finance Ministry announces it will decrease government funding for university tuition, meaning students will have to pay extra cost, apparently effective this academic year

Zvi Lavi
Published: 08.12.08, 15:06 / Israel News

Bad news is brewing for higher education, as the Finance Ministry has decided to increase tuition at State-funded universities by 6%. Ynet has been first to publish these conclusions of a meeting held by the Knesset Education Committee, in which the budget for higher education was discussed. The increase is expected to take effect by this coming academic year.

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The ministry indirectly confirmed the news by explaining that it has decided not to increase the government's regular funding by 6%, which had become the norm during recent years. The ministry announced it would lower the funds back to 20% government participation in tuition, meaning the remainder of the 26% given by the State during the past few years would now be paid by the students.

Itamar Elitzur, who heads the National Union of Israeli Students, professed to know about the upcoming tuition raise. He also said the Finance Ministry plans to set a differential tuition that will cancel government subsidy for subjects such as law and business management.

MK Alex Miller, chairman of the Knesset's student lobby, asked during the meeting why the ministry was violating an agreement signed by the prime minister according to which tuition would not suffer an increase. The ministry's representative answered that the conclusions would pertain to the most recent academic year, and not the upcoming one.

But Miller said that the exposure of the Finance Ministry's plan to increase tuition for the students is serious and will cause irregularities in the opening of the academic year. He called on the ministry to withdraw its intentions.

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