Santiago de Chile, December 24 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Chilean students and professors took to the streets once more in Santiago on Tuesday to protest against the government’s education reform, chanting slogans like “Not a penny for the market.”

Then on Wednesday, the Chilean parliament passed the reform, which is only valid for one year, and only means that education will be partially free. 

The march was called by the Confederation of University Students of Chile (Confech) but other also unions participated, including professors. 

President Michelle Bachelet had promised to grant “free education for all” after the opposition successfully went to the Supreme Court, which declared the bill “unconstitutional” and “discriminatory.”

Nevertheless, students have repeatedly mobilized against the reform throughout the year, claiming that a system of grants for underprivileged students did not equate to free education for all.

Controversy around the bill escalated last week with the governing coalition divided on the fact that free access to education did not apply to at least three public universities, while private ones were included.

“State universities are all included in the free-education bill, none will be treated differently,” said the Education Minister Adriana Delpiano on Monday, after sending the bill to the National Congress.

The government explained then that the three public universities fell short of the required four years of guaranteed accreditation. Governing sectors then responded, saying the government was taking the opposition’s threat to resort again to the Supreme Court too seriously.

About 185,000 students should benefit from the measure next year, said Delpiano, while the grant system would affect 140,000 more students in technical education.