Quebec education minister open to discussions

Quebec Education Minister Line Beauchamp has announced that she is open to discuss university governance with protesting students.

Students all around Quebec have been protesting the planned tuition increases for ten weeks now. 

But Beauchamp said the tuition increases planned to take effect in September 2012 are not negotiable, CBC reports.

University student group FEUQ asked the Quebec government to allow the creation of an independent committee to oversee university spending.

Beauchamp agreed to sit down with the FEUQ to discuss how this could come into being, but not to discuss the tuition increases.

The Charest government wants to increase the fees by $325 each year over the next five years to bring them to about $3,800 a year.

Line Beauchamp’s office was vandalized on Friday, and authorities arrested seven people.

Lately, students have held daily rallies in major cities to fight the tuition hikes.