Israel’s 250,000 college students resumed classes last week after a five-week strike over higher-education cuts and tuition fees that had brought the country’s campuses to a standstill.
The summer semester will be extended by two to four weeks, depending on the discipline, to allow students to catch up on lost class time.
Student leaders approved a compromise deal by a vote of 23 to 17, ending a long and acrimonious dispute that had spilled over into violence as student protesters scuffled with the police in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Under the deal, the government agreed to restore $300-million cut from the higher-education budget over the next four years, freeze student fees for one year, and consult with students before carrying out the recommendations of a panel that is to due to report in June on reforming the way higher education is financed.
Student leaders oppose proposals by the panel, called the Shochat Committee, to raise fees and introduce a system of student loans. Both a previous committee and the Knesset, Israeli’s parliament, have recommended reducing student fees.
The deal was proposed by government representatives, but student leaders were prevented from approving it earlier by protesters who disrupted their meetings and halted the vote.
The vote was eventually taken under tight security at a law college at Kiryat Ono, near Tel Aviv, as hundreds of students chanted in protest outside the building. Afterward, Itai Shonshein, chairman of the National Union of Israeli Students, left through a side exit, protected by security guards hired by the union.
“The struggle bore fruit,” said Mr. Shonshein. Moshe Kaveh, president of Bar-Ilan University and chairman of the Committee of University Presidents, welcomed the end of the strike.
http://chronicle.com Section: International Volume 53, Issue 39, Page A37