The Academic Association of the University of Lisbon (AAUL) is challenging the government’s intention to unfreeze undergraduate tuition fees from the 2026/2027 academic year, dubbing the plan a step backwards.
Minister for education, science and innovation Fernando Alexandre announced the move yesterday, recalling that tuition fees have remained unchanged since 2020.
The increase proposed is just €13 – taking fees from the current €697 to €710.
But for AAUL it is a red line that cannot be crossed. In a statement, the association says the government’s decision shows it is prepared to raise “already dizzying barriers, opting to cut the biggest social lift the country has ever known”.
In the Association’s opinion, a country that treats its further education like this is a country that condemns itself to stagnation and low wages.
“Students deserve more, higher education institutions deserve more. Above all, the country deserves more. This option isn’t just wrong, it’s a step backwards, an affront and a challenge”.
AAUL has been joined by various other student bodies, all fully prepared to take to the streets if necessary.
“We do not accept this attempt to increase tuition fees, nor any other that may follow, and we are certain that if the government does not go back on its intentions to increase tuition fees within the framework of the 2026 State Budget, students will respond in the streets, in struggle, united,” AAUL concludes its statement.
Fernando Alexandre has explained that the proposal is to increase tuition fees ‘based on the 2025 inflation rate’. The trouble with the government’s arguments is that they are not taking into account the ‘lack of student lodgings’ available, and the high costs of rents otherwise available, leading many families to realise that they simply cannot afford a university education for the child/ children.
Source: LUSA
