Students in Chile have been holding nationwide demonstrations to demand free and quality education for all, accusing President Sebastian Pinera of shutting his ears to their demands.

Violent confrontations between masked protesters and police marked the first of the two-day national protest called by students and supporters.

Students are now preparing to take to the streets in mass protests on Wednesday, calling for radicalisation of their movement in a country where decent education has become a tough proposition for a major section of the population.

University and secondary school students have skipped their classes with the belief that this unprecedented movement is worth the sacrifice, to make Chile - the so-called Latin American success story - a country where equal opportunity is more than just a slogan.

Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman reports from Santiago.