The council representing Quebec university professors voted overwhelmingly last month reaffirming its opposition to the province’s plan to increase tuition fees.

Quebec’s March 2011 budget announced a $1,625 university tuition hike over five years, representing a 75 per cent increase from the current fees. The first increase will take effect next fall.

According to the Fédération Québécoise des Professeures et Profes­seurs d’Université, raising fees is a move away from a commitment to accessible, public higher education. FQPPU said the boost in tuition will lead to declining post-secondary education attendance rates, especially among students from lower-income households, create extremely challenging fiscal circumstances for students, and inflate student debt loads.

The professors’ federation also took aim at the flawed budget consultation process, arguing the government “falsely” presented the uptick in tuition as “the only way to ensure adequate funding of the university network.”

Like the province’s student federations, Quebec’s professors reiterated that access to a post-secondary education must remain a recognized right for everyone with the ability to pursue studies regardless of their income bracket, and once again called for a broad public debate on university funding.