Under French rule the huge majority of
highly-educated Algerian citizens were French settlers and other Europeans. Most of these
people left immediately after Algeria gained independence in 1962. Since the 1970s
governments have made education a priority, and today it accounts for some 40 per cent of
government spending. But the task has been made difficult by the sheer number of children
in Algeria – 42 per cent of the population is aged under 15. In some places the
number of pupils per teacher is so high that children go to school in shifts. The typical school day starts at 8am. Extreme
mid-day temperatures in desert regions mean that school-work has to stop for a rest period
between late morning and mid-afternoon. All Algeria’s schools are state-run; private
schools were abolished in 1976. Officially, attendance is compulsory for all children
between 6 and 16 years old. In practice, many children leave school at 13 or earlier,
while five per cent of school-aged boys and 15 per cent of girls go out to work rather
than attending school. There are 18 major universities or technical colleges in Algeria,
and about 12 per cent of school-children go on to higher education.
The children of the Western Sahara
Thousands of Saharawi children have
grown up in the refugee camps of the Western Sahara. Each of these four huge camps has its
own primary school, with up to 2,500 pupils aged 11 to 14. There are two boarding-schools
outside the camps for older students.
When the camps were first set up 24 years
ago, 90 per cent of the children were illiterate. Today, 95 per cent of Saharawi children
can read and write. This turn-around is all the more the remarkable in view of the limited
resources in the Western Saharan camps.
More about the
refugee camps
Read a
traditional Algerian story
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