Saturday, June 30, 2012

Chile: Students protest against education costs



On Thursday the protesters marched past the presidential palace in the rain. The protests organized by the Confederation of Chilean Students (Confech) were against increasing education costs and profiteering in education. Compared to last year the student movement had been relatively quiet.

Spokesperson for Confech Gabriel Boric said:“The government is right to be worried because we are dealing with a minister who bows to business,” “We want to say that while this happens, we will not be quiet. We went from a military dictatorship to a market dictatorship.”

Education in Chile is paid for primarily by citizens. The protesters are demanding reforms that would have the government shoulder more of the costs and replace private for profit schools. In Chile seven different universities are under investigation as directors and executives are accused of putting fees into their own pockets! The protesters are demanding free quality education.

As in other places a smaller group broke off and engaged in vandalism. Although the main march was peaceful police nevertheless called it the most violent of three this year. They said 250 protesters were detained and 20 officers injured. Other cities in Chile also saw demonstrations. For more see this article.

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