הA week ago it was announced that the Ministry of Education intends to regulate by law the collection of payment for the completion of matriculation and other payments related to the matriculation exams, this under the direction of the millionaire Minister of Education, Naftali Bennett, who became very rich in the high-tech industry and whose fortune is estimated at over NIS 25 million, according to publications in the newspaper "Globes". The decision of the Ministry of Education according to which parents will be required to pay for part of the matriculation exams caused great resentment among council members, who have been dealing with education issues in the city for years.
"Reducing the gaps in Israeli society can only exist through education!"
Council members Sigal Zioni and Sharit Golan Steinberg said that there is no chance in Haifa that students whose parents cannot pay for matriculation will leave with a matriculation certificate with fewer academic units. Economically, this will be avoided. Another thing that came out of their words is that their goal in Haifa is to reduce the gaps between the strong and the weak through education, and this decision perpetuates the gaps and causes injustice to the students whose parents cannot afford to pay for what, until now, is given free of charge to every student.
Councilwoman Sigal Tsioni:
"I promised to be the mother of the parents and the students, and I think that part of the job is also to protest the intention to allow those who are able to take the matriculation exams and those who are not - not. There is no way that we will support a program that perpetuates differences between students because of the socioeconomic status of the parents.
For me it's a terrible thing, that I won't be able to give him a hand. Education is the tool through which students can advance, acquire education and in the future also higher education and reach any position in life.
What do we say to the students, whose parents can't pay for matriculation? Will you have a worse matriculation certificate because your parents couldn't pay? Do students have to pay a price for their parents' financial situation?
My job, and I will do it, is to take special care of those students, and enable them with the help of the matriculation certificate to go anywhere and improve their situation. In the past there were all kinds of protests because of the high price of one product or another, but this protest is the most significant protest. It's a protest because of which it really won't be possible to move to the agenda.
Our first duty is to ensure that every student can reach his full potential. Any student who wants to study and succeed in this city will be able to do it. It is unthinkable that students would want to study and obtain a matriculation certificate that would enable them in the future to be admitted to a Technion or a university and we will block them because of money. The socioeconomic status of the parents can decide about luxury, whether the child will be able to join one or another expedition, but not about the studies themselves."
Member of the Council on behalf of the Transformation faction Adv. Sharit Golan Steinberg:
The guideline "that allows schools to charge for increased math studies is a ridiculous decision that takes us decades back to a time when the rich get more and the poor get less. The mask has been removed from the face of the Minister of Education who works to promote an elitist population and perpetuate poverty. I expect this unfortunate decision to be canceled and every In any case, I will act with all my might so that in Haifa this directive is not implemented. Everyone will be entitled to have the same opportunity."