The Education and Finance Ministries have plans to build
8,000 new classrooms at a cost of NIS 4.6 billion ($1.1
billion) in the next five years — 390 classrooms per
year for the chareidi education system, 550 classrooms for
Arab schools and 460 classrooms for secular schools —
announced PM Ehud Olmert, Finance Minister Avraham Hirshson
and Education Minister Yuli Tamir at a press conference held
after this week's cabinet meeting.
The government approved the classroom construction plan for
2007-2011 after setting up a committee headed by the director
of the Prime Minister's Office and with the participation of
the director of the Education Ministry, the Budget
Commissioner and the Assistant Attorney General, which will
set the allotment policy for the various sectors "with
priority going to the official school system." The government
decision will be brought for approval soon.
Meanwhile the Education Ministry will conduct a comprehensive
property assessment to improve the quality of the data in its
possession on the issue of substandard and defective
buildings. The assessment will include geographic location
and a breakdown according to quality variables.
Another committee will be set up to suggest ways to convert
existing structures into educational facilities.
During the press conference PM Olmert said that the student
population in Israel has been growing at a rate of 1.4
percent annually, but the number of classrooms is slated to
grow by 3.2 percent during the next five years.
Both the PM and Education Minister Yuli Tamir noted the
relative lack of classrooms and the inferior infrastructures
in the chareidi and Arab sectors.
According to Education Ministry figures, the chareidi
education system is expected to grow by 25 percent over the
next five years, whereas forecasts show the government
education system shrinking by 2.3 percent.
