Algeria is a North African country with a Mediterranean coastline and a Saharan desert interior. Many empires have left legacies here, such as the ancient Roman ruins in seaside Tipaza. In the capital, Algiers, Ottoman landmarks like circa-1612 Ketchaoua Mosque line the hillside Casbah quarter, with its narrow alleys and stairways. The city’s Neo-Byzantine basilica Notre Dame d’Afrique dates to French colonial rule.

From the Mediterranean coast, along which most of its people live, Algeria extends southward deep into the heart of the Sahara, a forbidding desert where Earth’s hottest surface temperatures have been recorded and which constitutes more than four-fifths of the country’s area. The Sahara and its extreme climate dominate the country. The contemporary Algerian novelist Assia Djebar has highlighted the environs, calling her country “a dream of sand.”

The World Bank classifies Algeria as an upper-middle income nation. The country is heavily reliant on energy exports in natural gas and oil.

What is Algeria famous for? 

Rock Art of the Tassili n’Ajjer. Algeria is known for its traditional hospitality, its Mediterranean climate in the north, and the Sahara, which covers nearly 90% of the country. Rock art drawings and Rock carving at Wadi Djerat in the Tassili massif (Tassili n’Ajjer).

Religion

Islam is the majority and state religion in Algeria. The vast majority of citizens are Sunni Muslims belonging to the Maliki school of jurisprudence, with a minority of Ibadi Islam, most of whom live in the M’zab Valley region.

Language

Algeria is recognized as the second largest Francophone nation in regard to speakers. English is also taught in Algerian schools, and there have been calls to replace French in the education curriculum with English since the latter is the ‘language of science. The two official languages in Algeria are recognized as Modern Standard Arabic and Tamazight (Berber).

Education in Algeria

In Algeria, 24% of children were enrolled in pre-school as of 2004. New reforms have been implemented since 2003 to make pre-schooling more accessible.

Primary school lasts for 5 years. Then, students move on to 4 years of lower secondary school and 3 additional years of upper secondary school. Primary and Lower Secondary Education, which is termed “Enseignment Fondemental” is the basic education that everyone is required to receive. If students wish to pursue higher education, they must take the baccalauréat, a national exam.

There are approximately 57 public institutions for higher education, which include “27 universities, 13 university centers, 6 national schools (écoles nationales), 6 national institutes (instituts national), and 4 teacher-training institutes (écoles normales supérieures).” As of 2015, Algeria has 92 post-secondary institutions, which includes 48 universities. People typically study three years for a bachelor’s degree, two years for a Master’s Program, and three years for a doctorate.

The structure of the school system is based on the 6+3+3 model: six years of primary school, three years of lower secondary school and another three years of upper secondary school. Together, the nine years of primary and lower secondary education constitute the compulsory basic education phase.

Primary Education

Education is mandatory and free for all Algerian children from age 6 through the 9 years of primary school that follow. Despite this, a number of children still fail to attend and the situation is worse for girls. The medium of education is Arabic. An average school day is 6 hours.

Secondary Education

Less than half the children who complete primary school take their studies further. At the secondary level, there are 3 streams, namely general, specialized and technical/vocational. Those in the first 2 of these study for 3 years before writing their baccalauréat de l’enseignement secondaire which is the key to tertiary education. Technical/vocational education may last between 1 and 4 years and aims to prepare students for an active life in the industry. It may also lead to higher education in certain.

Vocational Education

The Algerian vocational training system is steadily being transformed into one that is more in harmony with the nation’s needs and an emerging more progressive employment environment. This process is supported by a number of other nations, as it continues to be in active dialogue with local traditional and religious values too.

Tertiary Education

Algeria has a wide range of universities and other centers of higher education too including specialized and teacher training institutes. Degrees awarded are based on the field of study, and curriculums are standardized by the ministry of higher education.

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Further reading on Algeria:

• https://www.britannica.com/place/Algeria
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algeria