ALGIERS - Thousands of Algerian university students protested here on Tuesday for the improvement of their social and educational status as well as reform of education system, the official APS news agency said.

Algerian university students clash with police during their protest in downtown Algiers, capital of Algeria, on April 12, 2011. They required the improvement of their social and educational status as well as reconsideration and change of education system. [Photo/Xinhua]

About 3,000 students took to the street, said the APS. However, the organizers said there were some 20,000 students.

Witnesses said clashes erupted when students attempted to reach La Grande Post square in downtown Algiers to march towards President Office in El Mouradia district to submit their claims to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Police forces closed all outlets leading to El Mouradia and used batons to disperse the protesters, a witness told Xinhua.

The students took to the street in response to a call of the Independent Coordination of Algerian Students (CNEA) to protest the way universities are managed, the depreciation of diplomas and the bad living conditions of students in campus.

Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Rachid Harraoubia said the ministry has installed a commission to exam diplomas delivered in some majors in terms of their values, calling on the students to be patient and wait for the outcome of the commission's probe.