Hundreds of higher education students took to the streets of Lisbon on Tuesday, March 24 to mark Student’s Day, rallying for an end to tuition fees, free housing, and greater public investment in student welfare.
The demonstration began at Rossio and marched through the city centre to the Assembleia da República, where protesters gathered outside Portugal’s parliament chanting slogans including “Students are on the streets, the struggle goes on.”
Organised by more than 50 groups within the Student Association Movement, the protest brought together student unions, academic associations, cultural groups and housing collectives from across the country.
“Fewer and fewer students can enter”
At the heart of the protest was growing concern over access to higher education, particularly for low-income students.
A spokesperson from the Students’ Association of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at NOVA University Lisbon said rising costs are shutting out those with the least resources.
“We want higher education for everyone, but fewer and fewer students are entering,” they said. “It is the poorest who are hardest hit, because they simply cannot get in.”
Students pointed to a combination of high rents, tuition fees and limited financial support as creating a system increasingly inaccessible to working-class families.
Housing crisis drives anger
Affordable housing emerged as a central issue, with many students struggling to find accommodation in Lisbon’s overheated rental market. Protesters argued that without urgent intervention, the cost of living will continue to push students out of higher education altogether.
Portugal is experiencing a severe student housing crisis, with average room rents exceeding €400/month, driven by extreme demand, low supply, and the rise of short-term tourist rentals. Rising costs make it impossible for many to afford accommodation in major cities like Lisbon, Porto, and Coimbra, leading to severe shortages.
While rent prices have soared, student incomes and national salaries remain low, with many locals earning under €1,000 monthly. The demand for expanded student housing was echoed in calls for a stronger social support system, including grants and subsidised services.
Government pushes back on tuition cuts
The demonstration coincided with comments from Portugal’s education minister, Fernando Alexandre, who defended the government’s position on tuition fees.
Speaking after a meeting with student leaders at the Teatro Thalia, Alexandre argued that eliminating fees would be “regressive,” shifting the entire cost of higher education onto society at large.
Instead, he suggested that fees should be adjusted in line with inflation, though he stopped short of confirming any immediate increase.
“Tuition fees should be updated according to the inflation rate, because they have, in fact, been decreasing in recent years. They are frozen, but they have been decreasing because we have inflation,” argued Alexandre.
Alexandre recalled the government’s “very clear” position, which views tuition fees as “a relevant form of financing” for higher education institutions, as they strengthen their autonomy and reduce their dependence on the government.
Representatives of the students who demonstrated in Lisbon for free education and a strengthening of social action also reiterated that the end of tuition fees has “historically” been one of their main demands.
On housing, the minister sought to reassure students, announcing plans to increase the number of student accommodation places by more than 14,000 beds in the next academic year.
However, for many protesters, the promise fell short of addressing the scale of the crisis.
Tuesday’s march builds on a wave of student activism in Portugal. In October last year, hundreds also demonstrated in Lisbon against a proposed tuition fee increase—plans that were ultimately rejected in parliament after broad political opposition.
