Students threaten strike before upcoming elections
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Finance Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday night considered raising tuition in higher education institutions in favor of funding the fight against poverty.
However, during a meeting with student representatives on Wednesday, Olmert made clear that any increase in tuition would affect only those from a strong economic sector of the population, saying, "I am against a child, whether from Netivot or Ma'alot, to pay the same tuition."
During the meeting, according to Army Radio, student representatives threatened to go on strike before the upcoming elections if Olmert went forward with his plan.
Former education minister MK Yossi Sarid (Meretz-Yahad) blasted the initiative, saying "Binyamin Netanyahu may have left the government, but he is alive and kicking at the Finance Ministry under the name of Ehud Olmert."