After Clermont-Auvergne University, that of Lumière Lyon 2 announced Tuesday that it would not apply the increase in registration fees for students outside the European Union, scheduled for the start of the 2019 school year by the government.
Lyon 2 follows Clermont Auvergne University. In order to allow as many people as possible to continue their studies in France, "Université Lumière Lyon 2 will exempt all foreign students from these additional costs at the beginning of the academic year 2019/2020 and will apply them only the rights in force for the all French students, "said the university in a statement. Clermont Auvergne University has also recently refused to apply this increase at the start of the school year.
The government announced in November 2018 the increase in university fees for extra-European youth, while affirming its desire to attract more international students by improving the visa policy and offering more scholarships, especially to those coming from abroad. Maghreb and Francophone Africa.
A measure "neither relevant nor just". "If improving the reception of foreign students is obviously a necessity," says Lumière Lyon 2, the increase in fees "does not seem relevant or fair because it concerns some of the most fragile students and beats undermines the principle of equal treatment between public service users ".
Currently, extra-European students (about a hundred thousand in France) pay the same fees as French or European students: 170 euros for a year in license, 243 euros in master and 380 euros in doctorate. From the start of the 2019 school year, they will have to pay 2,770 euros in a Bachelor's degree and 3,770 euros in a Master's and PhD degree, ie "one third of the real cost" of a foreign student for public finances according to the government. Non-Europeans who have already started their studies in France are not concerned by this increase.