Ddefunding of higher education”, “real cynicism”, “lies”. The opposition parties (PS-Ecolo-PTB-Défi) have not spared their invectives with regard to the preliminary draft decree containing various measures in the field of education and which plans, in particular, to reduce of 6.5 million euros in funding for higher education establishments. “The masks are falling,” denounced Martin Casier, socialist deputy in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, to the minister-president. “You announced to us, with great fanfare, an exit from the closed envelope to refinance the budget per student. »
Faced with criticism, Elisabeth Degryse (Les Engagés) re-explained that the measures were part of “different temporalities”. With on the one hand, the desire to break out of the closed envelope in the medium to long term. But on the other hand, currently, the higher education budget remains unchanged despite the evolution of the number of students, which reduces funding per student over the years. “We are working on it. Working groups have started,” assures the one who has the budget and higher education in her remit. In this context, the centrist stressed the need to “take our responsibilities by making savings” for the 2025 budget.
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6.5 million losses
This is how the government intends to reduce various subsidies intended for higher education by 6.5 million euros, hoping to compensate for this loss with the contribution of foreign students. “This was part of the lines of thought put forward in the community policy declaration,” added Elisabeth Degryse. In the future, these students would have to pay an annual registration fee of 4,175 euros (in addition to the usual tuition fee of 835 euros). “Talk with those in the sector, they will tell you that the amount of our fees is sometimes seen abroad as laughable and as synonymous with lower quality,” assures the Minister-President. “Obviously, it’s not just the registration cost that defines quality, but it contributes to it. It is therefore a safe bet that, in the years to come, the financial return for establishments will be greater than the 6.5 million. »
The economy of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation will be built on the backs of students from the Global South
Left-wing deputies denounced the cynicism of this measure. “So the economy of the FWB will be built on the backs of students from the Global South,” regrets Martin Casier. “Moreover, if the institutions are guaranteed to lose 6.5 million, they are not at all certain of recovering the lost amounts. »
Please note that nationals of certain countries are exempt from additional registration fees. For the moment, the question of also making all non-resident students contribute more is not on the table. We think of the French students who are increasingly attending our universities.
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Risk of increased precariousness
In the opinion delivered by the Academy of Research and Higher Education (Ares) and of which The evening was able to take note, the members of the Board of Directors of Ares (of which the universities are part) are generally unfavorable (thirteen unfavorable opinions, nine abstentions, none favorable) on the new source of financing, namely the additional contribution of students from outside the EU.
It is constant (and crucial to underline) that students currently paying the increased registration fees have a fragile socio-economic profile: increasing registration fees will lead to a major risk of increasing their precariousness.
“Some of the countries affected by this measure ask us questions given their socio-economic status,” notes Cref (the Council of French-speaking rectors) in a preparatory note. “It is constant (and crucial to emphasize) that students currently paying the increased registration fees have a fragile socio-economic profile: increasing registration fees will lead to a major risk of increasing their precariousness. » This increase in registration fees could, according to universities, discourage non-EU students from enrolling in French-speaking Belgium, “with these already expressing difficulties in paying”. “The quality of supervision and infrastructure is not sufficient (due to lack of resources) to attract students from “rich” non-EU countries who could pay high registration fees. » The MR-Engagés government must a priori meet remotely this Thursday for the second reading of the program decree.
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