Itongadol.- The Knesset Finance Committee approved budget transfers totaling NIS 1.7 billion on Wednesday, of which some NIS 900 million will be transferred to the Education Ministry.
According to the proposed transfers, NIS 880 million will be allocated to the Education Ministry, of which NIS 500 million will go towards additional teaching hours and NIS 175 million towards lengthening the school year for first and second graders. An additional NIS 110 million is to be allocated to nutritional security, for meals in schools and another NIS 110 towards increasing support for yeshivas that encourage enlistment in the army or national service.
Despite the formal approval of the committee, opposition members, having missed the discussion and vote expressed their grievances, and Committee Chairman MK Nissan Slomiansky (Bait Hayehudi) agreed to hold a repeat vote on the funds intended for the Education Ministry in the coming days.
“This is a budget that is very essential to the educational system,” said Slomiansky, adding that he hopes that their transfer will receive final approval in the next few days.
The committee also approved the transfer of some NIS 254 million for developmental expenses including NIS 86 million for scientific research and the space program, NIS 111 million for additional activities in space, including research activity in the field of applied science and infrastructure. An additional NIS 48 million is geared towards funding Israeli participation in CERN – the Center of European Nuclear Research and NIS 19 million towards cyber research.
In addition to the Education Ministry funds, the committee also approved budget transfers to the Energy and Water and the Environmental Protection Ministries.
Some NIS 480 million will be allocated to various developmental projects, including the rehabilitation of the Kishon, the construction and development of the Ariel Sharon Park, the development of Nahal Park in Be\’er Sheba, the rehabilitation of the Dead Sea and the Carmel, as well as oil substitutes and waste treatment in the Bedouin sector.
An additional NIS 18 million was approved towards the Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) for the construction of infrastructure, aimed at reducing the duration of vehicle checks at the Allenby crossing.