The Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba remained closed today, the only institute of higher leaming in Israel not to have begun the new academic year.
The Technion in Haifa reopened after the summer recess last week, and all other universities apart from Ben Gurion started classes today, though all were complaining about the lack of budgets and wondering how long they would be able to continue teaching and functioning before they would have to close down because of lack of funds.
The Beersheba university’s academic board said it did not have enough funds to maintain the institute, while that of Tel Aviv University said it was opening classes while expressing doubts about its capacity to continue for long without adequate funds.
The universities are demanding that the government continue to provide the minimum finances required, failing which Israel would find itself without the needed supply of university graduates required to provide trained manpower.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.