Sao Paulo, August 12 (RHC)-- Clashes have broken out between Brazilian police and a large number of students protesting against government-proposed reforms to the public education system in the city of Sao Paulo.

On Thursday, several hundred students took to the streets of Sao Paulo in southern Brazil to express their opposition to the neo-liberal reform plans. Graffiti could be seen on the walls against interim President Michel Temer as angry students marched along Avenida Consolacao district in the central part of the city.

The rally turned violent as riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters. Local media reports said that a number of people were arrested at the protest rally.

Under the proposals put forward by Geraldo Alckmin, the governor of the state of Sao Paulo, 94 public schools will be closed and over 300,000 students will be relocated in a bid to save money, while vacated educational institutions will be used for other purposes or sold off.

Academics, however, argue that the plans, which are aimed at reorganizing the educational system in Brazils most populous state with over 44 million inhabitants, will only worsen the problem of overcrowding in public schools.

In recent weeks, Brazilian demonstrators across several cities have held protest rallies to vent their anger at political upheaval, corruption and overspending on the Rio 2016 Olympics.