“Contrary to the alarmist narrative, updating tuition fees as we intend and as currently planned does not hinder any student’s access. The real hindrance is maintaining an artificial freeze that depreciates the quality of education and exacerbates inequality between institutions,” stated Minister Carlos Abreu Amorim during the debate on the 2026 State Budget.

Today, the parliament is voting on proposals from the PS and PSD/CDS-PP on this matter. After PS’s proposal to maintain the tuition freeze was approved in committee on Tuesday with Chega’s favorable vote, the government-backed parties’ proposal to index tuition to inflation had been rejected in committee.

For the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, the PSD/CDS-PP proposal “fulfills the government’s commitment to resume a moderate, predictable, and responsible tuition mechanism after five years of freezing,” noting the prior results were “not remarkable.”

Carlos Abreu Amorim also argued that the “prolonged freeze weakened the financial autonomy of higher education institutions, deteriorated their investment capacity, and limited their ability to meet quality and modernization demands.”

“The tuition update is, indeed, aligned with three central government commitments. Firstly, to improve the quality and competitiveness of higher education. Secondly, to support those in need with a new reinforced and progressive social action model. Thirdly, to ensure that Portugal continues to qualify ambitiously, equitably, and responsibly financially,” he added, urging other parliament members to approve the proposal.

Should the plenary confirm Tuesday’s votes, the value of higher education tuition will remain frozen for the 2026/2027 academic year.