This has been a historic year for the Algerian education sector, with a record percentage of students passing national exams and government initiatives expanding schooling subsidies. However, teachers continue to call for changes and have threatened to strike. In July, the government reported that the percentage of students who had passed the national baccalaureate exam on their first attempt had reached a record 61 percent, compared to 45 percent the previous year and twice the percentage in 2000. The authorities were also pleased to announce that – for the first time since Algeria's independence – 49 high school students had passed the exam with a mark of better than 18 (out of 20). However, alongside the good news came reports that Algerian teachers, who had gone on strike at the beginning of the year, may do so again. The Autonomous Education Workers' Union (Le Syndicat autonome des travailleurs de l'éducation et de la formation, SATEF) has called for an overhaul of the remuneration, retirement and social benefits systems for teachers, as well as regular payments of allowances and bonuses. This union would also like to help “alleviate teachers' daily stress” by improving medical services in the workplace. In response to such demands – and in order to address other related problems – the Minister of Education, Boubekeur Benbouzid, held a national conference of regional educational leaders at the beginning of September in Algiers. Benbouzid used the occasion to unveil a new action plan designed, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Education, “to correct inter- and intra-regional disparities” and “to achieve the highest global standards in education”. The new policy includes a controversial provision that has already upset many of Algeria's teachers. In order to tackle absenteeism, the government would mandate regional directors to monitor all educational institutions and to report on teachers' work attendance records. A teacher who accumulates three unexcused absences will be dismissed. The action plan also includes provisions to monitor and improve school attendance among students. A new administrative system will ensure better coordination and follow-up, giving special attention to students who repeat a class or drop out of school. Reiterating the prohibition against excluding children under the age of 16 from public education, Minister Benbouzid has also insisted on giving underperforming students the chance to repeat a class or to enroll in vocational training. Moreover, the state plans to provide special assistance to regions suffering from low educational performance. During the 2010/11 school year, such regions will benefit from new infrastructure projects, including 570 cafeterias, 258 half-board accommodation units and 13 dormitories. The government has also decided to offer incentives to encourage teachers to work in underdeveloped parts of the country. This programme underscores the government's determination to offer the same opportunities and resources to all schools and students. In particular, the state has placed emphasis on the need to improve the primary school enrollment rate in Algeria's rural regions, which is currently below the national average of 98 percent. Such measures come on the heels of recent efforts to assist students in need. In 2010, the government allocated AD6.5 billion (€63.8 million) to provide free textbooks to approximately half of the country's 8m students. Likewise, it has extended education subsidies amounting to AD3000 (€29.5) per student, while providing free tutoring for students preparing for the national exams. Algeria has made progress since 2000, when the government conducted a national assessment of the educational system. The percentage of six-year-old children enrolled in full-time education has increased from 93 percent in 2000 to 98 percent in 2010, reaching international standards. Similarly, the repetition rate among primary school students is down to 13.6 percent, nearly four percentage points lower than in 2003/04. To build on this past success, the state has announced plans to spend AD420 billion (€4.1 billion) on education between 2010 and 2014. As Benbouzid concedes, there is still plenty of work ahead. The sector must cope with a rapidly growing population, regional disparities, overcrowded classrooms and dissatisfied teachers. However, as Benbouzid said during a speech marking the start of the 2010/11 academic year, “With a third of Algeria's population in school, the future is on our side.”
