Thousands of Tunisian teachers took to the capital's streets Wednesday to demand bonuses and improved working conditions months into a strike that has disrupted schools across the country. The demonstrators, heeding calls to protest by the country's powerful UGTT trade union confederation, gathered in the centre of Tunis to call on Education Minister Hatem Ben Salem to step down.

"Get out" and "the solution is resignation", the teachers chanted. The protest was the latest in a stand-off ongoing since 2017 between Salem and the secretary general of Tunisia's secondary school teachers' union, Lassaad Yacoubi. Strikes since October have hit Tunisian schools hard, as many teachers have failed to conduct first term exams or give grades.

The strikes - which call for early retirement, bonuses and better conditions in schools - have continued despite calls by the UGTT to return to regular classes. Without exams, students fear they may have to repeat the school year. Students and parents have themselves protested in recent weeks.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019