Police clash with students at Sydney Uni

Riot police have clashed with student protesters during an event at Sydney University attended by federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham.

Footage shows police officers forcibly removing about 30 students from the university's library on Wednesday night.

"They pushed us up two sets of stairs, utilised headlocks, and at least two students were knocked to the ground," student Cameron Caccamo told AAP.

"(It was) really excessive force given that we weren't violent."

He said the group had been staging a peaceful rally to protest against the minister's recent commitments to university deregulation.