Madrid, October 24 (RHC)-- Spanish students have taken to the streets of the capital, Madrid, to protest against government spending cutbacks affecting education.

The Wednesday protest was organized by the Spanish Students' Union against the rise in college tuition fees and cutbacks on subsidies to poor students.

The protesters also blamed the government for the rising unemployment rate among youth in Spain. They called on Education Minister José Ignacio Wert to resign.

Spain's overall 26-percent unemployment rate is the worst in the European Union. The youth unemployment rate stands at 57 percent.

More nationwide protests are expected in Spain on Thursday, ahead of the release of new unemployment figures for the last quarter of 2013.

On September 13th, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) added Spain to a list of countries with relatively large economic imbalances, saying that public debt continues to rise in the country. The Spanish economy slumped by more than 1.35 percent in 2012, which was the second worst yearly fall since 1970.

Battered by the global financial downturn, the Spanish economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008, taking millions of jobs with it.

The Spanish government has been sharply criticized over its austerity measures, which are hitting the middle and working classes the hardest.