Several people have been injured this Wednesday following a series of clashes between different groups of students during a protest on the campus of the University of Athens, in the Athens district of Zografou.
The incident occurred when several groups of students -- allegedly linked to the Left -- confronted each other after some of them threw Molotov cocktails and axes at another group that was holding an assembly.
The attackers, who entered the area wearing hoods and motorcycle helmets, began assaulting those present, according to Greek television station ERT, which says that the unrest has been concentrated in the Department of Mathematics.
The first reports indicate that the incidents involved members of the center-left party Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), with a social-democratic orientation, and extreme left students.
Among those injured, several have burns caused by the Molotov cocktails, while at least one of them suffers a cut from a sharp weapon in a leg, although it has been ruled out that his life is in danger.
Call for new protests on Thursday
Students and teachers in the capital are scheduled to carry out new demonstrations against the Government this Thursday at 11:00 (local time) in front of the main building of the University of Athens, located on Panepistimiou Street.
The protest will presumably focus on rejecting plans to introduce nationwide examinations in Secondary schools, as well as the proposal to eliminate Article 16 of the Constitution, which states that higher education must be provided, officially, by public institutions.
Among the main demands are an increase in funding for educational centers, the review and repair of school infrastructure, full coverage of teaching staff positions, a reduction in the number of students per classroom, and the withdrawal of the new regulations that govern school trips.
The main Secondary teachers’ union in public centers, OLME, has also called a four-hour strike -- from 10:00 to 14:00 hours -- to facilitate the participation of teaching staff in the protests.
"We stand in solidarity with our students and with university students in their demand for the right to public and free education, and for the studies and life they deserve", the union has said in a statement in which it calls for an additional increase in public funding allocated to education and health care.