Algerian International School In France: Fundamental Amendments To End Duty Negligence

The Algerian Prime Ministry made fundamental amendments to the executive decree that included the creation, organization and work of the Algerian International School in France, to eliminate legal violations committed during the previous management period between 2014 and 2019.

It was decided, for the first time, to open the way for non-Algerians to continue studying at this school, in return for paying tuition fees, the amount of which is determined by a joint decision between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and National Education.

The latest issue of the Official Gazette indicates that, based on the joint report between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of National Education, it was decided to amend some provisions of Executive Decree No. 01-308 of October 16, 2001, which includes updating the Algerian International School in France by the Executive Decree No. 22-371 of October 27, 2022, to definitively eliminate the legal violations committed during the management period between 2014 and 2019, especially in the field of administrative and pedagogical management, as well as put an end to the negligence by employees in breach of proscribed duties.

The second article of the new decree clarifies that it was decided, for the first time, to allow students of foreign nationalities to join the Algerian International School, to continue studying there, according to the modalities determined by a joint ministerial decision between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of National Education, and the same article indicates that the amendment has been made in the provisions of Articles 8, 9, 1, 18, 20, 23 and 25 of the decree, while Articles 8 and 20 were kept unchanged.

Article 9 of the same decree obligates students of foreign nationalities to pay tuition fees, the amount of which is determined by a joint decision between the ministers of foreign affairs, national education and finance. In contrast, education is free for Algerian students, while Article 1 of it confirms that the steering board headed by the representative of the minister of national education consists of the following members, a representative of the ambassador, vice president, head of the department in charge of teaching Arabic in France, school director, education advisor, financial manager, accountant assistant, teachers’ representative elected by his colleagues for each stage, students’ representative elected by his peers in each year, and the chairman of the parents association.

To end the school’s duty negligence, Article 23 of the same executive decree confirms that the employees of education, administration and support at the school are employed in France, under “contracts”, according to the conditions stipulated in the regulation in force in the host country, as well as based on the number of proposed financial positions, to be selected by a committee established at the Embassy of Algeria in France.

Echorouk sources confirm that the director of training at the Ministry of National Education, Bekhouche Sonia, has been appointed Director of the School, succeeding the previous manager, whose functions were terminated. At the same time, Abdelouahab Guellil, a former chief of staff at the ministry, was retained in the position of head of the department in charge of Arabic language education, with renewing confidence in Belkacem Boukchour, the school’s financial manager.

In 2016, the teachers of the Algerian international in France launched a protest against what they called “the tragic circumstances of Paris”, by appealing to the Minister of National Education at that time, Nouria Benghabrit, to personally intervene to end the ordeal they have been experiencing every day because of the unacceptable and irresponsible practices of the school’s management.

Indeed, they demanded to be subjected to the laws of the Algerian school as pledged by the relevant ministry before their appointment. So, they called on the authorities concerned to solve these urgent problems by making them retrieve their labour rights which are being flouted arbitrarily by the management of their School in Paris, as they put it.

They also stressed the need to consider the overtime work they usually perform beyond the 18-hour legal education task and the hours spent in educational research.

They also asked for the recovery of their social rights and benefit increases every two years at least to be in line with the cost of living, as well as the payment of 50% by the School of their season ticket for urban transport and to end the indiscriminate sanctions meted out by the School’s management which has up to now turned a deaf ear to their bona-fidé claims.

In 2019, National Education Minister, Abdelhakim Belabed, ordered the need to immediately settle the outstanding financial conditions of the employees without any delay and called in return for the need to open registration at the International School in Paris for all Algerians who are living abroad without imposing any conditions or exceptions.

While chairing a meeting of the Coordination Council of the Central Administration, he instructed its frames to open the door for registrations for all Algerians who are living abroad without discrimination or exceptions by giving them priority in registration as the school is a facility of the Algerian state, and he spoke in details about how to register at this international school.

In another context, he ordered his executive directors through the competent departments, of the importance of initiating the application of procedures for the settlement of outstanding financial positions of employees at the national level and at the earliest without delay, by financially sponsoring new employees such as new professors, in addition to paying the delayed financial benefits for staff members who have benefited from promotion in newly created positions after successful examination.

Minister Belabed also defended the graduates of the high school professors, who suffered unemployment against their will because of the bad conditions that were imposed earlier, where he called for the speedy liberalization of their appointments in full transparency with the adoption of priority according to the degree of merit taking into account the year of graduation and the rate that is obtained. The “reserve” lists must be used in the pedagogical vacancy directly.

He asked his services to prepare a list of educational institutions that did not organize remedial examinations for pupils at the end of the academic season. He also insisted that a meeting of the Coordination Council should be held every Saturday, which would serve as an outcome of the weekly events.

The International School of Algeria in Paris was established in October 2001, it was an event that was a milestone in the history of the Algerian community in France and the action of the Embassy of Algeria to Paris. This school, whose acronym is “EIAP”, was created by a decree initialled by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on October 17, 2001.