Finance Committee approves last-minute transfer of NIS 4.5 billion to Education Ministry

The Knesset Finance Committee approves an additional transfer of some NIS 4.5 billion ($1.2 billion) to the Education Ministry for the 2025 budget, the last day such changes can be approved, the committee spokesperson says in a statement.

The measure, which could still be subject to revisions, was approved after a lengthy and heated discussion and despite protests from the opposition, who say that not enough time was given to examine the proposal, which was only introduced yesterday at 5 p.m.

The transfer includes an additional NIS 2.67 billion ($731 million) for elementary and middle school teachers’ salaries and NIS 2.33 billion ($638 million) for salaries related to special education services, due to “a significant increase in the amount of eligible students,” the statement says.

Included in these numbers is some NIS 819 million ($224 million) necessary to implement wage increases for high school teachers, per the agreement with the Teachers’ Union signed after the strike at the beginning of the school year, the statements says.

The increase also includes additional funding for the ultra-Orthodox education track. In announcing the transfer in a separate statement, MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism), chair of the Finance Committee, said the move “closed the gaps in the budget for the Haredi education sector.”