Santiago de Chile, October 16 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Both high school and university students took to the streets of Santiago de Chile on Thursday to demand the government make more progress to offer free education in the country.

The motto of the event was “Free without transformation is not progress,” pointing to the educational reform promised by the current government of President Michelle Bachelet.  According to the students, the implementation of these educational reforms has been too slow. Education workers were also among those marching.

The group behind the protests, the Confederation of Chilean Students (Confech), also proposed that the Education Ministry should prioritize the right to education, create better working conditions and not commercialize the education system.

The students gathered in front of the Confech headquarters and continued to march through the streets of the capital, passing the Ministry of Education and La Moneda Palace (the seat of the Presidency).

The march was mostly peaceful, yet there were reports on social media of police using water cannons and tear gas against protesters at the end of the march.