Santiago - A 14-year-old girl on Monday threw water from a glass in the face of Chilean Education Minister Monica Jimenez, who was participating in a debate on the future of education at a luxury hotel in Santiago.

"They gave me a shower, but they could have used slightly warmer water," the minister joked later.

The incident came as the government, students and teachers are locked in a long conflict over plans for new education legislation. Student activists have demanded the end of a system that allows for- profit schools and the selection of students.

Jimenez said the attack "discredited" the student movement because it showed that "they are not capable of dialogue, since they are like lions when they are in a group."

Students loudly complained to Jimenez of mass arrests and repression as a result of their protests, which are also supported by university students and teachers.

Jimenez noted that, if her attacker's aim was for her to feel like demonstrators against whom the police have thrown water, she had "succeeded."

Chile suffers from severe income inequalities rooted in unequal access to education and work. Among the poorest 10 per cent of the population, the average schooling is
10 years, while in the richest 10 per cent the average is as high as 14 years. (dpa)