Often described as deficient, the management of primary schools by the Popular Communal Assemblies has always been the subject of strong criticism, whether from parents or social partners. The Minister of National Education, Mohammed Seghir Saâdaoui, mentioned the possibility of transferring it soon to the State budget, rather than to the communes.
This measure, the minister specifies, will be made possible as soon as the new law on communes, currently under study in Parliament, is adopted. This reform aims to strengthen the management of the primary cycle and to ensure better administrative and financial management of the institutions.
This announcement was made during a meeting held between the Minister of National Education and Nabil Khwaldia, president of the commission for education, training, higher education, scientific research, and religious affairs at the Council of the Nation. The meeting, held at the end of last week, allowed discussion of several priority files in the sector.
Regarding private schools, the minister clarified that the granting of approvals will now be based on sector needs, with special attention given to specialized institutions. An executive decree setting the approval procedures will be published soon in the Journal officiel. Owners of approved schools are invited to submit their files for extensions, creation of new cycles, or change of address to the education directorates. Authorizations to continue activity will be issued after an inspection of the premises by a specialized commission.
Concerning the special status of education staff, the minister indicated that the final text is being prepared, following several meetings with social partners. He also specified that the positions open to the national recruitment competition are vacant positions, not newly created. This competition concerns 45,000 teachers and 24,000 positions intended for other bodies. Contractual teachers will be allowed to participate.
The minister recalled that reducing overcrowding in schools remains a priority, especially in the middle and secondary cycles, through the creation of new infrastructures and the rehabilitation of existing establishments. On the pedagogical level, the national commission for the quality of education continues its work to improve school programs and adapt curricula to current pedagogical needs.
Furthermore, the minister affirmed that the project for the production and distribution of electronic tablets, carried out in partnership with Algerian companies and start-ups, has reached an advanced stage. This initiative is part of the orientations of the President of the Republic aiming to modernize the education system.
Finally, he reminded that economic service agents are an integral part of the educational family, and that their demands are being studied with a fair approach adapted to the sector’s specificities. For his part, Nabil Khwaldia announced the upcoming holding of a hearing session of the Minister of National Education and his team at the Council of the Nation, to continue consultation on structural reforms in the sector.