The government will tomorrow declare the College of Judea and Samaria in Ariel a university. The change in status will enable the government and Council for Higher Education in Israel to inject more money into the institution.
It is not yet clear if the announcement meets various regulations. The authority for changing the status of a college into a university rests with the Council for Higher Education, after a recommendation by a special committee, and after meeting a series of criteria.
Minister of Housing and Construction Isaac Herzog today said he opposed the announcement, and called on other ministers to do likewise. "Vote against this measure to change the status of the College of Judea and Samaria into a university. This is a distortion of priorities at the expense of allocating resources for developing the Negev and Galilee, areas that have been discriminated against for years."
Herzog said the change in status would divert expensive resources, and that it did not conform with Israel's priorities, beginning with development of the Negev and Galilee. He added, "Just when higher education in Israel is in crisis, it seems that this measure is intended to serve political, rather than social, interests."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 1, 2005