Hundreds of students protest in Algiers

Algiers (16/01/2012) – Students of the National Schools of Teachers in Kouba and Bouzeriah protest against the Ministerial resolution N° 715 which defined the conditions for access to the Master graduation for high school students, which excluded the graduates of high schools for teachers.

Students threatened of escalating the protests if government will not review the resolution.

Echorouk newspaper paid a tour to the high school of teachers in Bouzariah, where approximately 5800 students, and noticed a complete paralysis of study in all departments including, English, French, Geography and Philosophy.

Students from the National Coordination of High Schools which called for a strike told Echorouk that they were subject this morning to threats and intimidation by the head of the school and by some organizations who refused to engage in the strike. The students added that organizers of the protest movement prepared lists of students’ names who agreed to protest, and found that their number reached over 1500 in the mid-morning.

The protesters also called upon the government to rename a teacher of primary school with professor of primary education, and matching the baccalaureate plus 3 years of study with LMD Bachelor to follow the gradient in the high studies and match the BAC plus 4 years with the professional master, and the BAC plus 5 years with Academic Master.

For his part, director of the High School of Professors in Bouzeriah, Abdellah Keli said in an interview with Echorouk at the school that the Ministerial resolution does not mean to now the high school graduates for a simple reason, which is that the graduates of these schools are linked to a direct employment contract with the Ministry of Education, explaining that eight disciplines at the level the high schools of professors in Bouzeriah still have masters exams each year, indicating that the LMD system in high schools of professors can be applicable next year, therefore current students are not concerned about it.

The director of the high school denied threatening the protesters, adding that absent students will be subject to punishment according to the rules of administration because they were absent without justification, as they cannot force all students to participate in the strike.