Since gaining its independence in 1962, education in Algeria has seen significant improvements in access to and quality of education. The number of students enrolled in school increased eightfold between 1962 and 1998, growing from approximately 940,000 to 7.6 million, according to a memo from the Project on Middle East Political Science. However, despite these gains, enrollment gaps persist, leaving some children without consistent access to education.

UNICEF’s Out-of-School Children Initiative

The Algerian government reached out to UNICEF for assistance in quantifying these shortcomings. UNICEF and the Ministry of Education took part in the Global Out-of-School Children Initiative (OOSCI) to identify flaws in enrollment and also characteristics of students who dropped out. The goal was to identify those characteristics so future students fitting that mold could potentially be prevented from following the same path.

The 2014 OOSCI study found that 33.4% of eligible students were not participating in pre-primary education, 3% in primary education and 6.5% in lower secondary education. According to the UNICEF study, students who attended pre-primary education were less likely to repeat grades, less likely to drop out and more likely to make it through secondary education.

The few pre-primary schools available in the country are privately funded and not available to a large portion of the population. The Ministry of Education says it plans to improve this.

Education in Algeria Still Faces Challenges

While literacy rates have improved in recent years – 87% for males in 2018 and 74% for females in 2019 – there are still several barriers to overcome. According to Broken Chalk, factors such as limited classroom space, poorly prepared teachers and tumultuous government regulations make consistent education in Algeria difficult. 

Algeria’s Ministry of Education banned French curriculum in 2023, further destabilizing the success of Algerian students. According to the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), transitions to Arabic for internal correspondence began in 2021, followed in 2023 by a push for the teaching of English in primary school. As Algeria shifts away from the traditional French curriculum, many students are struggling to adjust to new expectations of the educational system. 

Unfortunately, due to conflicts and other crises, the number of out-of-school children has increased, according to a report released earlier this year. UNICEF reported in January 2025 that “an estimated 30 million children are out of school in the Middle East and North Africa region… risking long-term consequences for their learning and wellbeing.” Algeria, located in North Africa, falls in these parameters, suggesting one in three children is not enrolled. As the UNICEF press release said, “Without schooling, young people are at an increased risk of exploitation, child labour, early marriage, and other forms of abuse.”

Furthermore, according to POMEPS, there may be a political aspect to educational improvement. Caroline Abadeer wrote in 2018, “Despite the socialist orientation of the state, therefore, the Algerian regime seems to be pursuing political goals and disproportionately promoting the welfare of the most loyal elements of its citizenry through the adoption of a strategy of clientelist educational expansion.” In other words, the government may be prioritizing loyalist areas for educational and social welfare improvements. This further exacerbates the disparity in education for students in poorer areas. 

Planning for the Future

Investments in education in Algeria may be costly. This could be problematic for a country where approximately one-third of the GDP is related to hydrocarbons – petroleum and natural gas products. Any fluctuation in the price of oil can have serious ripple effects on their economy – much like what the world witnessed during the coronavirus pandemic that began in 2019. 

As education in Algeria undergoes targeted reforms, students must adapt to language changes, fluctuating enrollment rates and many other challenges in pursuit of an education.

– Brian Faust, Jacob Christopher

Photo: Flickr