Tamir and Olmert (Archives)
Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, GPO
Tamir thanks Olmert for 'preventing educational budget cuts'
Education minister praises outgoing prime minister's contribution to education system, says 'only two PMs in history of state stood by commitments made to system – Olmert and Rabin'. Thanks Olmert for full protection from budget cuts
Education Minister Yuli Tamir bid Prime Minister Ehud Olmert an emotional farewell Thursday afternoon at an educators' convention in the Technion in Haifa.
The minister said that only two prime ministers in the history of Israel stood by their commitments to promote the education system – Olmert, and the late Yitzhak Rabin. In the time of the outgoing government, Tamir said, the education system "received complete protection against budget cuts".
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Tamir, who is also parting from the education system herself, thanked Olmert personally and expressed her admiration of him, "even though we are not in the same party and have even had differences of opinions".
The prime minister responded to Tamir's warm words, saying, "It is not your fault that your party has become small and esoteric".
Olmert also praised Tamir's work as education minister, and said it was her courage that allowed the education system in Israel to progress during his tenure.
"I am proud of the things we have done, because these are things that my government did in a joint effort and with the help of Tamir's courage," he said.
Olmert continued to list what he called his government's top three achievements in the education system, starting with the Ofek Hadash reform, which was being implemented by the teachers association and with its cooperation.
The second achievement the prime minister noted was the four-year project of construction of new classrooms, set to be complete in 2011. Olmert said that 40% of the classrooms to be built in the project will be in the minority sectors.
The third matter Olmert detailed was care for toddlers and at-risk children. "We occupy ourselves with questions of which teacher will teach a child in the first grade, but at the age of two, kids are sent to the neighbor who couldn't make it as a beautician so she opened a daycare center, and then 15 years later we have to invest in psychologists to diagnose the child and explain why the child fails to reach its potential."
Despite the mutual compliments, the Olmert-Tamir government was one of the stormiest governments the State has ever known in regards to education, with the longest strikes in history, both in higher education, and in high schools.
Olmert met with various heads of universities and academic institutions, who all recognized the government's willingness to invest large amounts into higher education in Israel, but pointed out that the needs remained much greater.
Tamir expressed hopes that the conclusions of the Shohat Committee report on higher education continue to be implemented, and that the progress that has been made in raising research budgets and tackling the brain drain not be hindered by the matter of raising tuition fees.
