Banned pupils parents angry at Algeria education ministry

Parents of 4 high-school pupils in the Algerian capital Algiers expressed their angry over the education ministry’s decision to ban them from school for offending Algeria anthem.

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• One of the four pupils’ mothers said she was surprised by the decision to deprive her son of taking the baccalaureate exam.
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• “I will not keep silent over this repressive decision,” she told Echorouk.
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• She also said her family took part in the Algerian liberation revolution against France and she educated her son on how to respect the national principles.
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• “My son did not mean to offend the national symbols.”
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• The education ministry’s decision came after the pupils torn down a sign with the national anthem on the wall of their Lycée. They hanged instead a flag of France.
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• Another parent blamed the school officers, saying they were supposed to sensitize the pupils by a “non-brutal punishment.”
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• One of the pupils’ fathers said he is a member of the National Liberation Front (FLN) and admitted that his son’s act is not acceptable. “But the punishment is exaggerated and it may cause negative consequences.”