Student groups reject tuition offer

CLASSE voted to rejected the liberal government’s tuition increase proposal.

Quebec’s most militant student group voted at a weekend meeting in Quebec city.

CLASSE’s spokeswoman Jeanne Reynolds said the proposal did not really respond to their demands.

Premier Jean Charest proposed Friday to spread to tuition increase on seven years instead of five, and to increase the bursary program.

Tuition would rise from $254 a year for seven years instead of $325 on five years.

But the legitimacy of the increase is what is being questioned, and there has been no compromise on that.

The proposal still has to be discussed with Quebec’s college and university students associations FECQ and FEUQ, but their leaders said they doubt the offer will be accepted.

The two groups said they think about mediation, but CLASSE said it isn’t interested because they think it won’t change anything at this point.

On Sunday, the Quebec Liberal Government said it was relocating its annual convention from Montreal to Victoriaville because of the protests.

Nightly protests have been held in Montreal lately, marked by violent police interventions.

A major protest was planned to be held in Montreal Sunday night.

The province-wide class boycott is in its eleventh week and has since drawn international attention.