MONTREAL - Students from Concordia University were largely missing from Wednesday's protest in downtown Montreal as over 1,700 of them debated and voted for three hours to join the ongoing province-wide walkout.

In the largest student assembly ever held at Concordia, 1,152 students voted to join the protest against the Charest government's plan to nearly double tuition by 2017.

557 students opposed the measure.

However the vote is not without controversy. Many students say the room booked to hold the discussion and vote was not large enough and say people did not have a chance to be heard or to cast votes.

They have launched an online petition to oppose the walkout.

With the addition of Quebec's second largest university, over 160,000 students have now joined the protest.

Concordia's undergraduates will begin picketing the university's entrances on March 15 and the protest is set to last eight days.

Concordia's Student Union says it has a lot of support among students, but some say they will not join the protest.

"There's more and more support on campus about accommodation for students who decide to strike," said Lex Gill, president of the CSU.

"Students are aware they're taking that risk and we're not doing it off the top of our head. There's been almost two years of campaigning on the tuition issue."

Those who oppose the tuition hikes have agreed not to interfere with people who would rather go to class.

"One of the amendments made to our motion was that students wouldn't block other students or professors from entering class," said Laura Glover, Vice-President of the Concordia Student Union "I think that discussions will take place as to how hard and how soft the picket lines will be."

According to Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota, teachers have been asked, but are not obliged, to be flexible when it comes to scheduling assignments on March 22. However the university points out that long-term accommodation of students refusing to attend classes is not an option.

Concordia's vote comes as most French post-secondary students officially join the protest movement, while the majority of students at English schools come out against any form of walkout.

This week students at Dawson College voted overwhelmingly against taking part in any walkouts to oppose tuition hikes, and last week students at John Abbott College did the same.

The ongoing strike is set to climax on March 22 when up to 200,000 students are expected to march on Place du Canada.

For more on the protests, including the march and clash between students and police on Wednesday, read this story.