Today, the Porto Academic Federation called on the Government and Parliament to ensure that, in the discussion of the proposal for a State Budget for 2027, they ensure limits and criteria for fixing Master's fees that protect students.
© Lusa
09/10/2026
by
Lusa
A The Porto Academic Federation today called on the Government and Parliament to ensure that, in the discussion of the proposal for a State Budget for 2027, they ensure limits and criteria for the fixing of Master's fees that protect students.
“ In master's degrees, students support tuitions much higher than those of undergraduate degrees and, therefore, it is essential to establish limits that avoid aggravating the burden of families. No student should be forced to give up progress in studies for failing to pay tuition. Access to training must depend on the merit and willingness to study, not on the financial capacity of each one,” said FAP President Francisco Porto Fernandes, in the press release sent to Lusa.
The FAP recalls that the financial capacity of students and families “cannot be an obstacle to education” and warns that it is necessary to create “conditions for younger people to access higher education and complete studies”.
The FAP considers that, in the case of undergraduate degrees, updating the value of tuition fees is insignificant for the student individually and can contribute to strengthening the financing of social action, to which 15% of the revenues are now required.
“ This contribution translates into an effective improvement of student services and support, in particular those facing economic difficulties”
However, FAP reiterates that masters, by not falling within the inflation limit, can suffer significant increases.
“ Without a defined ceiling or transparent criteria for calculating these costs, the proposal may lead to significant increases and accentuate economic barriers to the frequency of the second cycle of studies”
This is the intention of defrosting the value of tuition fees, which have not changed since 2020, in undergraduate courses, Professional Higher Technical Courses (CteSP) and Masters indispensable for the exercise of a professional activity since the school year 2027/2028.
According to the proposal for a State Budget for 2027 (OE2027), the maximum amount of tuition fees will be equal to the ceiling set at 2026/2027 (EUR 697), plus the average rate of variation of the Consumer Price Index (IPC), without housing, recorded in 2026.
Student associations from five higher education institutions today called for a demonstration on 21 October in Lisbon against the government's proposal to defrost the value of tuition fees from 2027/2028.
The government had already proposed the defrosting of tuition fees last year under the OE2026, but the intention was halted by the opposition that approved, in the discussion in specialty, 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.