A coalition of nine organisations has filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court against the increase in higher education tuition fees and the overhaul of free education in schools, two key measures in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation's Programme "décret programme II"(Programme Decree II).
The appeal, filed on Friday 3o October, was brought by the Federation of Fracophone Students (Fef), Fédération des Étudiants, la Ligue des familles, la Fédération des Associations de Parents de l’Enseignement Officiel (FAPEO), l’Union francophone des Associations de Parents de l’Enseignement Catholique (UFAPEC), la Coordination des ONG pour les droits de l’enfant, le Réseau wallon de lutte contre la pauvreté, la Ligue des droits humains, le Centre d’Action Laïque and le Service droit des jeunes.
They are seeking the annulment for both provisions.
The decree, adopted by the parliamentary majority on 5 June, aims to save around €500 million by 2029 through a series of cuts to education.
Among them, free education was extended to the fourth and fifth years of primary school but with less funding attached. Meanwhile, maximum tuition fees can now rise from €835 to €1,194 depending on household income.
Almost five months later, both measures remain deeply unpopular across the education sector.
'Financial barrier'
The coalition has denounced what it describes as a sharp increase in tuition fees. At universities, the maximum fee has risen by 43% in a single year, while at university colleges and arts schools the increase can reach as much as 582%.
"Many families faced with this financial barrier are now thinking twice before choosing a higher education course," the organisations told La Libre Belgique.
They argue that Belgium is legally bound to move in the opposite direction, arguing that when the country ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1983, it committed to progressively introducing free higher education.
The organisations also take issue with the way tuition fees are calculated.
The system takes into account the income of everyone living in the student's household, which they say ignores many families realities
Free education
Regarding schools, the organisations argue that the new system is discriminatory because pupils in the sixth year of primary no longer benefit from free education.
They point to the Council of State, which has stressed that the right to free education covers education itself, not merely access to it. This means schools should not be allowed to demand additional fees from families.
The coalition also regrets that its repeated warnings were ignored before the decree was put to a run-up vote.
The parliamentary majority “chose to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye," they summarised.
