The Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, announced on Tuesday that the government will unfreeze the tuition fees for bachelor’s degrees starting in the academic year 2026/2027. The fees, unchanged since 2020, will increase from 697 to 710 euros.
On Tuesday night, AAUL expressed its “total repudiation and vehement condemnation” of the Ministry of Education’s confirmation of its plan to progressively increase tuition fees from the 2026/2027 academic year.
AAUL believes the government’s decision reflects a lack of investment in public funding, instead opting for higher barriers, potentially hindering what is considered the greatest social elevator in the country.
According to the Association, such treatment of education condemns the country to stagnation and low wages.
“Students deserve more, Higher Education Institutions deserve more. Above all, the country deserves more. This option is not just wrong; it is a regression, an affront, and a challenge. On a day when the government promotes social action reform, throwing sand in the eyes, it subjects students to yet another humiliation.”
The statement from AAUL highlights that the current cost of studying is about 900 euros per month and rooms in Lisbon are approximately 500 euros without a contract.
“The residences are delayed, investment is non-existent, and Higher Education Institutions survive in an environment of successive suffocation, while their students (survive),” notes AAUL.
The Association also says that “students have already demonstrated that when challenged, they react, resist, and win.”
“We are confident that the entire student movement will be mobilized, and as far as AAUL is concerned, we will make every possible effort to prevent this measure from advancing, both within the government and at the University of Lisbon. The future of higher education is at stake now. We will be at the forefront, with firmness and responsibility, in defending students’ rights,” the statement reads.
On Tuesday, the Student Association of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences (FCSH) of the New University of Lisbon (UNL) opposed the government-announced tuition fee increase and promised to “respond in the streets.”
“We do not accept this attempt to increase the tuition fee or any others that might follow, and we are certain that if the government does not reverse its intentions regarding the tuition fee increase within the framework of the 2026 State Budget, students will respond on the streets, in struggle, united,” says the association in a statement.
According to Fernando Alexandre, the update of bachelor’s degree tuition fees will be based on the inflation rate of 2025 and will be included in the State Budget Law proposal for 2026 to take effect in the academic year 2026/2027.
