More than 100 students spoke in Lisbon against the government's proposal to increase tuition fees, claiming that the measure will create more barriers to access to higher education.
© Lusa
21/10/2026
by
Lusa
A threat of increasing the value of tuition today mobilized more than a hundred students who spoke in Lisbon against the government proposal that they say create more barriers to access to higher education.
Luís Gomes is in the first year of his degree in history. Admits that the possible thawing of the maximum value of tuition fees will have little impact on your family budget, but also acknowledges that it will not be so for many of your colleagues.
“ I live well, but several friends don’t live and so I won’t stop fighting until I’m sure they’ll have as good conditions as I do,” Lusa told the young man.
The student of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon was one of more than 100 university students who were today concentrated in front of the Culturgest, at the seat of the Government, at Campus XXI, in Lisbon.
The concentration was called by associations of students from various higher education institutions against the proposal of thawing, from the school year 2027/2028, the value of tuition fees of the undergraduates, Professional Technical Courses (CTeSP) and Masters indispensable to the exercise of a professional activity.
The measure, which is contained in the proposal for a State Budget for 2027 (OE2027) submitted by the Government, provides that the maximum amount of tuition fees is equal to the ceiling set at EUR 2026/2027 (697), plus the average rate of change in the Consumer Price Index (IPC), without housing, recorded in 2026.
“ The teaching should be for everyone and it is the higher education that leads people to grow in some way ", defended Camila Pereira, of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon.
For Design student, the proposal threatens to create more barriers to access to higher education, which Camila considers not to be compensated by the new scholarship rules.
Two weeks ago, the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, defended the measure, stating that the defrosting of tuition fees does not remove students from access to higher education, because the government increased social support for students, but arguments do not convince students.
“ With so many crises taking place in the country, this sector could not go through this,” says Sara Nunes, student of Anthropology at ISCTE – Lisbon University Institute in a reference to protests in defense of housing.
Referring to the Prime Minister in particular, the young woman also said that she can see that Luís Montenegro “thinks so, because it is easy to think so when you have several real estate and a stable life”.
“ We students are here trying to achieve that stable life. Do not take away that right, please ", appealed.
Sara was not the only one to address the head of the government and among the dozens of posters displayed by the students there were messages such as “With 55 properties paid for the course” or “And are we selfish?”, in this case in reference to the recent statements of the Prime Minister regarding protests for the right to housing.
The OE2027 proposal also provides that, in the case of other master's degrees and doctorates, tuition fees “should take into account the real cost of training”, a nuance that concerns António Jarmela, from Instituto Superior Técnico.
“ There may be students who, if they double or triple the tuition fees for these courses, may not be able to study in a year’s time,” he warned, calling on opposition parties in parliament to prevent the amendments.
The government had already proposed the defrosting of tuition fees last year, but the intention was halted by the opposition which approved, in the discussion in the specialty of the State Budget for 2026, a proposal from the PS that kept the maximum value of EUR 697.
The freezing of tuition fees was approved in 2016 at the time on a proposal from the CFP under the State Budget for 2017.
The figure was then set at EUR 1,067,85 and has suffered successive reductions, and since 2020/2021 it has been at EUR 697.
By the parties, the secretary-general of the PCP, Paulo Raimundo, spokesperson of the Free, Isabel Mendes Lopes, and former deputy of BE Isabel Pires, unanimous in the criticisms of the executive, attended the demonstration.