3% tuition hike disguised as virtual "freeze" - student groups shun PQ decision

This week's Summit on Higher Education initially proposed a virtual "freeze" on tuition fee hikes.

 But upon finding out it was a three percent hike, student groups responded with disappointment.

The Montreal Media Co-op reports that the Quebec government proposed a kind of price adjustment - called an Indexation - to reflect the province's current social and economic status. 

This indexation called for a three percent annual increase in tuition fees, and a three percent increase cap on “ancillary fees”.

Ancillary fees are fees that universities charge students annually for administrative and service costs.

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois says indexing fees was "… another kind of tuition freeze" that's based on current economic data.  That includes a hike of household revenue and an ongoing annual inflation rate.

Many names used for the proposal include a "70 dollar-per-year increase," and an increase in line with the growth of household income.

The proposal was made before the summit began on Monday. It received negative feedback from student groups.

The virtual freeze could also potentially provoke them to return to the streets and protest, according to the Media Co-op.

ASSÉ boycotted attending the summit beforehand upon finding out their hopes for free tuition were shelved by the Indexation.

Meanwhile the FEUQ chose to attend the summit to have their voice heard. After the talks however, they declared that any tuition increase was unacceptable.

STORY WRITTEN BY: SATURN DE LOS ANGELES