Students in Chile rallied against the government in an attempt to urge them to improve the overall education system of the country. They particularly wanted to see changes regarding Chile's higher education system.
Thousands of students marched to different Chilean cities as lawmakers prepared to debate on the proposed educational reforms. The students said President Michelle Bachelet's moves to improve higher education were not enough. These students wanted to see improvements on the quality of higher education, as well as more accessibility.
The student protesters pointed out that Bachelet's administration did not make enough changes in order to provide free university education. They also believed the government should have talked to the students and did survey and research before they decided to draft the education reforms, U.S. News shared.
The head of the University of Chile student union, Daniel Andrade, said in a statement, "I don't know if the government is playing stupid. You can't legislate without listening to the social movements." It is believed that the student population will not be at par with the new government to take over this November.
Reports said Chile will hold presidential elections this November and it is believed Sebastian Pinera will win. He said he will continue with the scholarships for poorer students for their free tertiary education. He also noted that he will not implement recent education reforms.
Many of the protesters flocked in central Santiago and the most of the protests turned violent. Many of the students who wore masks and black outfits threw stones at the police. Authorities, in return, used tear gas and water cannons to break the rowdy groups, Yahoo News reported.
Six police officers suffered from injuries and 30 protesters got arrested. It remained unclear how many students attended the protest as organizers claimed there were 90,000 while police estimated 35,000 protesters.
