ISRAEL

University heads oppose Ariel institution upgrade

Presidents of Israeli universities last week expressed opposition to the official granting of university status to an Ariel educational institution. In a letter, the Council of Presidents of Israeli Universities call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the declaration of the Ariel University Center as a university, saying the move would “deal a mortal blow to the higher education system in Israel”, writes Ben Hartman for The Jerusalem Post.

The letter, which was also sent to Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, goes on to describe a “lost decade” during which Israeli universities have suffered from underfunding, which has helped lead to a brain drain and has harmed Israel’s ability to be a world leader in research.

The presidents say that all the improvements made in recent years could be set back by the decision to make the Ariel College a university. Furthermore, they add that Israel “has no need for an additional university and creating an eighth university will deal a serious blow to the universities’ ability to recover from the lost decade and will negate years of advancement”.
Full report on The Jerusalem Post site