Tuition may be raised to pay for 'war on poverty'

Finance Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday night considered raising tuition in higher education institutions in favor of funding the fight against poverty. 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." The student organization responded that it was regrettable that the finance minister was trying to build up his election campaign at the expense of the university students, Army Radio reported.