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Chilean riot police clash with student demonstrators

Friday, 17 April 2015 1:19 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 17 April 2015 2:19 AM ]

Chilean students clash with riot police during a demonstration to demand better public education in the capital, Santiago, April 16, 2015. (© AFP)

Riot police in Chile have clashed with students demanding that the government improve the quality of public education during a demonstration in the capital, Santiago.

Tens of thousands of students took to the streets in Santiago on Thursday, protesting the expensive and unfair education system in the country.

The demonstrators, who were carrying posters and banners and were marching to the beat of drums, attacked police with stones and sticks. The Chilean police, in response, used water cannon and tear gas to disperse them.

“We have to say enough to corruption,” said Valentina Saavedra, the head of the University of Chile Student Federation.

According to police sources, 40,000 protesters participated in the demonstration in Santiago, but the protest organizers put it much higher, at 150,000.

Similar demonstrations were also held in other cities, including in Valparaiso and Concepcion.

Although the government of President Michelle Bachelet has taken measures to reform the education system in the country, students believe the system is still unfair.

Chile has seen mass protests led by student unions since 2011. The protesters have been calling for a free and universal education system.

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