ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

STORY: Chilean students clashed with police in downtown Santiago on Tuesday as they intensified demonstrations in demands of reforms in the education system they say is profit driven and provides poor education.

Student organizations called for a nationwide student strike and marches to highlight their demands and criticisms.

Police tried to clear the students from the streets as they congregated in major avenues and pelted tear gas trucks with rocks and other projectiles.

Local reports say as many as 27 Santiago schools have been taken over by students since the ongoing demonstrations took a violent turn last week.

Chilean students have been locked in incessant protests for more than a year, often times scuffling with police as they call for free and universal system and denounce a plan put forward by the government they say does not go far enough in guaranteeing rights to education.

The government says the protests forced nearly 38 percent of students to repeat the school year.