Tel Hai Academic College in Kiryat Shmona demands that the Israeli government, with an emphasis on the Ministry of Education, implement in practice the decision of the Higher Education Council (HEC) from September 2022 and upgrade its status to a university. This was the first university to be established in the Galilee and the 11th in the country.
Since then, elections have been held and a new government was elected, and now the college is asking the government to pass a budget in accordance with the decision.
"This is a national issue that is not related to one side or the other of the political map," explains the college's CEO, Eli Cohen. "Establishing the university will help develop the entire Upper Galilee and the Golan."
Tel Hai Academic College, photo: Eyal Margolin - Gini
According to him, the government should budget the MLA according to the decision and not be based on the debate about where the university should be built. "If they want to wait another 50 years until a metropolis is built here - the area will be damaged," he explains. "Be'er Sheva has a university and colleges around.
Therefore, the voices as if the establishment of the college in Kiryat Shmona will harm other areas in the Galilee are not true.
We need to strengthen Kiryat Shmona and strengthen the area.
To attract a population here and create jobs."
Five-year academic program
According to the president of the college, Prof. Eliezer Shalio, the university will send branches to other cities in the region.
"In Safed there are the health professions and a branch of the university will be established there. In the Golan, the education branch will be established. We submitted a five-year plan that costs about half a billion shekels. It is important to build a plan that will bring us a nucleus of researchers."
The residents of the Upper Galilee have been suffering from neglect for years.
The average salary in the north is about 70% compared to the average salary in the center.
60% of the municipalities in the region are in low socio-economic clusters.
The Jewish population is leaving the area that suffers from negative immigration.
The Upper Galilee area.
"Establishing the university will help develop the entire Upper Galilee and the Golan", Photo: Moshe Shay
The largest employer in the Galilee region today is Tel Hai College with approximately 1,000 employees.
In light of the severe lack of new employment opportunities in the region, the establishment of the University in the Galilee should give impetus to the entire region and change the rules of the game.
The numbers are revealed
A document obtained by "Israel Today" indicates that the economic benefit to the Upper Galilee region from the establishment of a university will amount to NIS 3.3 billion - an amount that no government has ever invested in the region.
From the point of view that the college conducted with the Pareto group, headed by Prof. Doron Lavi, the establishment of the university will achieve a very large economic benefit for the Galilee finger as well.
In addition to the addition of jobs to the academic staff, the inspection revealed that the number of direct jobs in the region will increase by 3,600 jobs, and including the Finger of the Galilee region, 10,900 jobs will be added.
The total economic impact of these jobs will amount to NIS 1.42 billion.
The addition of jobs in the area is also expected to increase the demand in catering, trade, construction and administration as well as industry, services and agriculture.
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