Beijing (AsiaNews) As many as 10,000 college students clashed with police in four days of protests over their academic status, damaging cars and buildings and leaving at least 20 people injured and five in police custody, the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported.
The protests erupted on October 21 in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, after students learnt that degrees from two private institutions might not be recognised by the government.
Soon after protests began, the paramilitary People's Armed Police was deployed to contain the protests.
Many protesters are said to belong to ethnic minorities, including some 2,000 Uighurs from China's Muslim northwest
Officials at Nanchang police headquarters and the administration offices of the two schools wouldn't confirm the report or give their names.
Such protests are increasing in China. Protests over the status of degrees granted to students who study at private schools set up as profit-making ventures by universities are becoming a problem.
These schools serve students who fail highly competitive entrance exams to government-subsidised universities but can afford to pay higher private tuitions.
The schools usually granted such students degrees and academic records in the name of the parent institution. But the government has cracked down on that practice, prompting student to complain that their expensive education is made worth less.