Reports of rise in tuition irk students

Student leaders say they'll use "every option" if gov't reneges on commitments reached after strike.

Tamir 224.88 (photo credit: Ehud Zion Waldoks)
Tamir 224.88
(photo credit: Ehud Zion Waldoks)
If the government reneges on its commitments to students, consumers of higher education will act "with all means at [their] disposal," student leaders said overnight Tuesday. The students were responding to reports that tuition fees will rise in the 2008-2009 academic year by NIS 168-900, depending on the academic institution. The expected rise in tuition was prompted by cutbacks in the budgets of universities and colleges, and also by a new policy according to which such institutions will not absorb periodical rises in the consumer price index. Netanel Izak, the head of Israel's Student Organization, and Boaz Toporovsky, the head of the Student Union, said "students will push a tough campaign against ongoing damage being perpetrated against them and against the entire higher education system." In the coming days, Education Minister Yuli Tamir, who is also the chairman of the Council for Higher Education, is expected to meet representatives of student bodies and Finance Ministry officials in an attempt to resolve the issue. Meanwhile, Tamir is holding continuous talks with the Prime Minister's Office in order to prevent the hike in the price of education.