In a letter to Minister Meshulam Nahari (Shas), who tabled the bill, Tamir called for a postponement of a cabinet debate on the proposal, saying that she would oppose it in its current form.
Nahari's bill would require municipalities to fund institutions in the independent "recognized-but-unofficial" school system at the same level as the state requires municipal finding for public schools. This arrangement, Nahari proposed, would create budgetary equality between independent and public schools.
However, Minister Tamir said that the proposal would actually promote inequality, as long as the independent institutions are not subject to the same administrative regulations as their state-run counterparts.
"If Minister Meshulam Nehari demands full budgetary equality for the recognized, unofficial institutions, then he must understand that there is no partial equality," Tamir said, "and that those institutions must be subject to the administrative criteria of the Ministry of Education.... [such as] a clear definition of what constitutes a school, classroom size, number of students, and the like."
If that principle of equality is maintained, Tamir said, she has no objection to budgetary equality between the various educational streams.
In a letter sent on Wednesday, the education minister asked that Minister Nahari agree to postpone cabinet debate on his bill. She explained that the proposal is not acceptable as it is and that she would make every effort to defeat it in a government vote. Tamir said that she considers it a struggle for the sake of the public school system in Israel.
The Center for Municipal Government estimates that if the bill becomes law, it will add some 400 million shekels to the budgets of the relevant schools. The additional funds, however, will not come from state coffers, as the Finance Ministry will not recognize the outlay for "unofficial" schools. Therefore, the chairman of the Center for Municipal Government, Adi Adler, called for a public struggle against the Nahari bill, which he said would overburden the already strained budgets of Israel's cities and towns. Aside from the budgetary considerations, Adler added, the bill, if passed, would be "the beginning of a process of disintegration of public school education in the country."
Nahari's bill would require municipalities to fund institutions in the independent "recognized-but-unofficial" school system at the same level as the state requires municipal finding for public schools. This arrangement, Nahari proposed, would create budgetary equality between independent and public schools.
However, Minister Tamir said that the proposal would actually promote inequality, as long as the independent institutions are not subject to the same administrative regulations as their state-run counterparts.
"If Minister Meshulam Nehari demands full budgetary equality for the recognized, unofficial institutions, then he must understand that there is no partial equality," Tamir said, "and that those institutions must be subject to the administrative criteria of the Ministry of Education.... [such as] a clear definition of what constitutes a school, classroom size, number of students, and the like."
If that principle of equality is maintained, Tamir said, she has no objection to budgetary equality between the various educational streams.
In a letter sent on Wednesday, the education minister asked that Minister Nahari agree to postpone cabinet debate on his bill. She explained that the proposal is not acceptable as it is and that she would make every effort to defeat it in a government vote. Tamir said that she considers it a struggle for the sake of the public school system in Israel.
The Center for Municipal Government estimates that if the bill becomes law, it will add some 400 million shekels to the budgets of the relevant schools. The additional funds, however, will not come from state coffers, as the Finance Ministry will not recognize the outlay for "unofficial" schools. Therefore, the chairman of the Center for Municipal Government, Adi Adler, called for a public struggle against the Nahari bill, which he said would overburden the already strained budgets of Israel's cities and towns. Aside from the budgetary considerations, Adler added, the bill, if passed, would be "the beginning of a process of disintegration of public school education in the country."