MONTREAL - Although late in the game, the three student groups seeking a reversal of the tuition hikes are now singing from the same hymn book.
"We will be in the same negotiation committee in front of Madame Beauchamp and say that the tuition increase will not pass," said Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois of the group known as CLASSE.
However, the provincial government has not agreed to participate in negotiations.
One student leader suggested Friday that Education Minister Line Beauchamp had agreed to start discussions after the long Easter weekend but Beauchamp later denied that any such talks were in the works.
Some protesters saw a glimmer of hope in a government plan to beef-up its student loan program, which students consider an attempt to appease their demands.
But student protest leaders say that the student loans lead to a hellish debt load.
"We think that increasing the student and family debt is not the solution to guarantee accessibility to post secondary education," said Leo Bureau-Blouin of a second group, known as FECQ.
The student protesters argue that tuitions can be held at current rates or even reduced if government manages their resources differently.
"We need to find a way to figure out what we can do about mismanagement inside our universities but also we need to find out new ways to finance our university system," said Martine Desjardins, leader of the third group, known as FEUQ.
The students criticized, among other Education Ministry expenses, a proposed $350 million dollar expansion at the Universite de Montreal.
The demonstrations, which reached their 54th day Saturday, have threatened the school year. Desjardins, however, believes that solutions can be found.
"Right now the administration from both CEGEP and Universities are finding new ways to extend the session," said Desjardins.
