The Union of Local Authorities head Adi Eldar accused the government on Thursday of destroying the education system in Israel.
Education Minister Yuli Tamir
Photo: Ehud Zion Waldoks
According to Eldar, Education Minister Yuli Tamir informed him yesterday that the ministry was pulling around NIS 300 million in funding. As a result, Eldar claimed "4,500 administrative workers are now in danger of being fired."
Eldar said that NIS 85m. would be cut by the end of the year, NIS 175m. next year, and the NIS 24m. earmarked for the New Horizon reform plan would no longer be available.
The Education Ministry responded that "the budget cut has been reduced from NIS 170m. to just NIS 85m. That is what Tamir told Eldar."
"The cut will be differential. Weaker authorities will be cut by one percent and stronger ones by 10%," an Education Ministry spokeswoman told the The Jerusalem Post, adding that "nothing has been decided for next year at all, so how can they (Eldar) say that it has been cut?"
Furthermore, she claimed there were actually less cutbacks from the ministry because of the New Horizon reform plan, rather than more cuts as Eldar had contended.
The Education Ministry said in a statement that the cut stemmed from a need to cover a deficit in the ministry. The ministry also urged the Union of Local Authorities to refrain from disrupting the start of the new school year.
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