Figueira da Foz, Portugal, Sept. 16, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal's education minister, Fernando Alexandre, gave a lesson on financial literacy on Tuesday, with savings in the spotlight, at his former secondary school in Figueira da Foz, but the pupils wanted to know about tuition fees and social action instead.
Fernando Alexandre, 53, joined the Dr Joaquim de Carvalho school in 1984 - the school was still called Secundária nº 2 and hadn't been named after the pedagogue and historian, which only happened in 1987 - and completed six years of schooling there until 1990, before taking a degree in Economics at the University of Coimbra (UC).
Today, the minister was facing an audience of around 280 pupils for an almost hour-long lecture on "Savings and the ability to imagine the future".
The economics pupils - three classes from 10th to 12th grade - were in the minority, compared to the other five classes in Humanities, Arts and Science and Technology in secondary school, joined by two others from 9th grade: in the question and answer period that followed the lecture by the economist and university professor, savings were practically ignored, in the face of the more pressing needs of future university students.
Margarida Jordão, a future lawyer or judge and 12th year Humanities student, wants to study Law in Coimbra at the UC and took action during the lecture.
As soon as she was given the floor, she dispensed with the unstable microphone and became a kind of spokesperson for her fellow pupils: she recalled the lower number of applicants for higher education and said she felt that the word “support” from the government for students was "becoming empty".
"I feel that we don't have enough residences, I feel that the increase in tuition fees was a phrase from the State saying “you're on your own”," she emphasised, to much applause.
In response, Fernando Alexandre explained that with the inflation rate for tuition fees for undergraduate programmes planned for the next academic year (2026/2027) - which he estimated at €13 per month - the government will apply a new social action model, increasing the available funds by €30 million to €100 million.
"Tuition fees can never be a factor in excluding access to higher education (...) What we have to ensure is that no one is excluded for economic reasons (...) those who don't have the means don't pay, and they'll get a grant," he said, alluding to support for family income and displaced students.
"And that's where the dimension of accommodation comes in, which is, in fact, the most important dimension," noted Fernando Alexandre, arguing that if the government's plan is fulfilled, Margarida will arrive in Coimbra next academic year "with many more places in residences" than currently exist.
"I don't want to say a certain number, because some are being finished now, but to give you an idea, with the PRR [Recovery and Resilience Plan] 139 residences are being funded, 90 of which are new, and which will add more than 11,000 new beds," emphasised the Minister of Education.
He specified that of these 11,000, 1,500 beds have already been available since last year, another 1,000 will be available this September, and the remaining almost 9,000 will be available by 2026.
According to Fernando Alexandre, the government will also provide support for accommodation for displaced students who don't have a place in a residence, "defined according to the cost of rent and I think it's quite adequate," he emphasised, without, however, giving any figures.
Turning to the 12th-grade pupil, Fernando Alexandre summarised the issue of access to higher education, noting that the update of tuition fees was only announced after a new social action model had been decided, and that it depended on it. However, the minister refused to say 100% that there could be no students excluded for economic reasons.
"It can happen, I'm not going to say that it doesn't happen, even with the social action system we have, which isn't very generous (...) I can't say that nobody is excluded, but if someone is excluded, it's very serious," he said.
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