The draft preliminary revision of Executive Decree No. 24/55, relating to the special status of education civil servants, continues to provoke strong reservations from social partners. The National Syndicate of Education Workers (SNTE) considers this text falls short of commitments made and is unable, in its current form, to restore equity within the sector. Pointing to persistent imbalances in career management and promotions, the union organization calls for a thorough revision of the document to adapt it to field realities as well as the legitimate aspirations of teachers.
After more than two months of meetings between union organizations and the supervisory ministry, intended to lead to consensual amendments to the special status, the SNTE believes workers’ expectations have not been met. In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Education, the SNTE estimates that the announced revision was supposed to correct structural injustices affecting several corps and grades, particularly regarding promotions and integration.
However, the presented document would maintain, according to the same source, forms of discrimination that have already sparked widespread contestation in the sector. The SNTE recalls that the stability of the largest sector in the civil service depends on an equitable status and a fair compensation regime, in line with the repeated commitments of the President of the Republic, who has described education as a strategic sector for the new Algeria.
For the union, pedagogical reform and program modernization cannot succeed without definitively closing the file on the special status and compensation regime. “The strength of the education system rests above all on recognition of the professional aspect, with the teacher at the heart of the system,” emphasizes the SNTE, which considers that responsibility now falls to the ministry to honor its commitments.
The union also asserts that even a multiplication of amendments—more than forty are mentioned—will remain insufficient as long as a revision of the general civil service status does not take into account the specificity of education professions.
Among the main demands is the unification of classification between teaching, inspection, and administration corps, at least between primary and middle school cycles. The SNTE laments a persistent inconsistency: although the required training is five years for teachers in both levels, career prospects differ, with primary level capping at a lower grade upon promotion to director position. A situation deemed unfair and contrary to primary teachers’ aspirations.
The statement particularly emphasizes the situation of principal teachers and trainers with less than four years of seniority in their grade. According to the SNTE, these individuals suffer a real violation of their rights, namely downgrading, cancellation of successes obtained through official competitions, and loss of benefits guaranteed by previous legislation.
The imposition of a four-year seniority condition, applied exclusively to this category, is described as blatant discrimination, especially since other corps have benefited from integrations without conditions. The union calls for the cancellation of this measure and immediate integration into deserved grades.
Another point of contention raised by the SNTE is the “15 years as a civil servant” condition, repeated in several articles of the draft preliminary. The SNTE denounces a vague term that could become an instrument of exclusion due to lack of clear specifications. The text neither defines the nature of seniority taken into account, nor the need for continuity, nor the reference date for calculating this period.
Furthermore, the SNTE points to “a series of shortcomings,” including the absence of automatic integration of civil servants into new grades and the lack of advancement prospects to higher grades for most corps. On the regulatory level, the organization regrets the lack of provisions legally protecting teachers and firmly opposes the maintenance of mandatory training spread over four to seven years, despite unanimous rejection by social partners.
The union also deplores a promotion system based on seniority rather than performance, thus depriving principal teachers and trainers with less than 15 years of service of their rights. Finally, the contestation concerns the refusal to lower the retirement age, the limitation of retroactive effect to 2025, as well as glaring inconsistencies regarding the grade and compensation regime of canteen inspectors.
The SNTE hopes, finally, that these observations will find a receptive ear among the ministry’s decision-makers. The union reaffirms that only a thorough, equitable revision in line with commitments made will restore trust and deliver justice to national education workers.