MONTREAL- The relentless anti-tuition hike movement was back putting rubber to the road with four more demonstrations around the province Sunday.

About 16,000 were on hand at the Montreal protest, while about 1,500 participated in Sherbrooke and Quebec City events, while a fourth event took place in Alma.

The demonstrators invited parents to take part in the event and many families were seen strolling leisurely together in the unseasonably warm afternoon weather.

One father said he was even more keen on eradicating the fee hike than his children.

"Actually, I'm a little more radical than them. They want to stay status quo. I would like school to be exactly all the way free," said Yanick Charbonneau.

And another teacher said that if high school is free, so too should Cegep and university be as well.

"They should get the same access no matter where they come from, like they did before, period." Marie-Elisabeth Sicard, a teacher at Lionel-Groulx College.

The ideal of free education was a common theme among those interviewed by CTV Montreal.

"I'd like to have my kids to have a free education. So I think it's the perfect moment to be here and to express that feeling," said Pierre Fontaine, who also teaches at Lionel-Groulx.

Student protest spokesperson Jeanne Reynolds pointed out that entire families are stakeholders in the educational process and they too should make their voices heard.

The Quebec Federation of Women, FRAPRU and the CSN all oppose the tuition hikes and were represented at the event.

"For us it's very important that money is not in the way for somebody to go to university," said CSN union official Dominique Daigneault.

On Tuesday students plan a sit-in outside the National Assembly in Quebec City during the unveiling of the provincial budget.

And the largest event thus far is planned for Thursday in Montreal, where many thousands are expected to attend.

Student organizers vowed Sunday that they would start a door-to-door campaign to persuade people to attend the March 22 protest.

With a file from The Canadian Press