PM Netanyahu Meets with Student Leaders from Around the Country on the
Occasion of National Student Day

(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the occasion of National Student Day,
today (Tuesday, 21 May 2013), in his Jerusalem office, met with student
leaders from around the country, including National Union of Israel Students
http://www.nuis.co.il/
Chairman Uri Reshtik. Also participating in the meeting were Education
Minister Shai Piron, Deputy Minister for Youth and Student Affairs Ofir
Akunis and Prime Minister's Office director-General Harel Locker.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said: "There are needs that must be dealt with but
there are also great changes. We stopped very negative trends in education
in general and in higher education in particular, and we have begun to turn
them around after the 'lost decade.' The previous and current governments
were and are committed to investing over NIS 7 billion in higher education
and this is what led to the turnaround. There are still needs such as
lowering the cost of housing and the cost of living, and these must be
invested in and broken; we will act in this sphere as well. We must improve
the education that we provide, from preschool to higher education and
beyond, and make it more efficient. The electronic revolution requires us to
jump forward, and be ahead of the world, not behind it. Alongside
technology, I think that we cannot neglect our heritage and the spiritual
values that are important to us."

National Union of Israel Students Chairman Reshtik thanked the Prime
Minister for his willingness to mark National Student Day. He added:
"Israeli students take responsibility for the society in which they live;
therefore, they request that the government to build the appropriate
infrastructure that would allow students to be productive citizens who
contribute to society and thus significantly influence making ours into a
more just society. This infrastructure includes investing in higher
education, inter alia, by making it more accessible to residents of the
periphery and helping immigrant, minority and economically disadvantaged
students. Such an investment is pure profit for the Israeli economy which
will benefit from the integration of more academics in the labor force."

Education Minister Piron said: "Marking National Student Day expresses our
recognition of the student public to the development of the State of Israel
and Israeli society, and it gives the message that the State of Israel
ascribes great importance to developing its human capital. Higher education
is the main key toward integrating into society. In the end, the student
public joins the labor market and translates its studies into action.
Therefore, cooperation between institutions of higher education, society
industry and the economy is of crucial importance." Minister Piron announced
that he intends to advance the accessibility of higher education to all
sectors as part of a comprehensive approach regarding equal opportunity in
society and the use of higher education as a primary tool in advancing
equality and strengthening the link between preschool-to-secondary studies
and higher education. He added: "The educational system must define
matriculation exams that match the needs of academia. On the other hand,
there is a need for academia to adapt itself to the needs of the Education
Ministry regarding its limitations and educational goals. I have set a
strategic goal – that we will not need all the institutions that
intermediate between secondary education and academia or at least reduce the
dependence on them. This adaptation is especially relevant given the
Education Ministry's plan to reduce the matriculation exams and strengthen
the pedagogic responsibility of school principals."

Deputy Minister Akunis referred to the Finance Ministry's intention to
eliminate the tax credit for academics: "I am in touch with the Finance
Minister on this issue in the hope of bringing about a re-evaluation of the
cancellation of the benefit. Today more than ever, it is important to invest
in advancing students and the higher education system since they are the
maim potential for growth in the Israeli economy." Deputy Minister Akunis
called on Education Minister Piron to join in the effort, adding, "The tax
credit is an incentive for many people to attend the academic institutions
in Israel and acquire a higher education."