The key facts
- ULB students partially blocked the Solbosch campus on Thursday morning
- The collective 'Gen-Z counter-attack' is protesting a 43% rise in tuition fees
- According to the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, the increase will affect 58% of higher education students
Blockade of the Solbosch campus
On Thursday morning, students of the Free University of Brussels (ULB) partially blocked the Solbosch campus in protest against a rise in tuition fees, the newspaper Le Soir reports. Access to the campus for students was maintained, although some buildings were blocked off. The day before, on 21 October, students set up barricades and placed protest banners at the campus entrances, speaking out against the planned fee increase and cuts to higher education funding in the Federation Wallonia-Brussels.
The protesters' demands
The action was held at the call of the collective 'Gen-Z counter-attack', which brings together students, student associations, researchers, lecturers and university staff. The main reason for the protest was a 43% increase in the annual tuition fee. According to figures from the Federation Wallonia-Brussels cited by Le Soir, the increase will affect 58% of higher education students. The collective also opposes the reform of the landscape decree, cuts to secondary education funding, rising transport costs and police actions against young protesters.
The university's refusal
The collective called on ULB to cancel classes on Thursday, but the university declined this request. In addition, the protesters demanded that the university end the practice of outsourcing, in particular cleaning services.
