Algeria expands funding for higher education

16 October 2009

With an eye to improving the skills of graduates and boosting scientific research, the Algerian government has increased its funding for a range of university-level activities.

Algerian university students will benefit from the largest increase in grant money in three decades when they return to classes on Sunday (October 18th).

Undergraduates will benefit from a term grant of 4,500 dinars, an increase from the current 2,700 dinars. Those working towards a PhD will receive 1,200 dinars every month. The government has already earmarked the money to cover the financial burden of the increase under a decision made last march by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

"The new increase and measures will, as a whole, boost the work of Algerian universities and encourage students," said Ismail Mjahed, secretary general of the Free General Union of Students.

"The approval of the student grant increase, regardless of its percentage, is in itself a positive step that the union can't but appreciate and praise," said the secretary general of the National Union of Algerian Students, Ibrahim Bolkan. "The union looks forward to other increases in the future," he added.

Bolkan called on the minister of higher education to take advantage of the decision to increase funding for scientific research to improve Algerian universities.

The government has set aside 100 billion dinars to fund scientific research over the next five years, an increase from the 50 billion dinars provided by the government from 2005 to 2009. Incentives, including tax breaks for institutions that conduct research and tax-exempt purchases of scientific equipment, have also been introduced.

The new academic year will see other improvements, as well.

New preparatory classes in science, technology, economic and commercial sciences and management, as well as preparatory classes integrating informatics and architecture, will be offered by Algerian universities. Universities will also expand programs to offer more BA, MA, and PhD programs. Construction of new graduate schools for technology, journalism, political sciences and management will also begin this year.

Algeria is currently listed near the bottom of Arab and neighboring countries in terms of its quality of education. Analysts say that several factors, including a low level of resources provided by the state, low monthly salaries for teachers, have led to the deterioration of the country's educational standards.

"The reforms may suffer from the lack of structures and shortage of teachers as compared to the huge number of students who enroll in universities every year, which are among the main causes of the deteriorating [educational] level of Algerian students," said Kemal Herzi, a writer who specializes in university affairs.

The university student population is expected to balloon to 2 million in 2010.

Herzi, concerned that the increase in funding will not be enough, said that the capabilities "provided by the state are no longer sufficient to deal with the huge influx of students, who find themselves lost and distracted between finding the means for transport, acquiring books and references that enable them to conduct research and attend classes, and receiving a meal at university restaurants."

By Walid Ramzi for Magharebia in Algiers