Investigations over embezzlement in Algeria education sector

Algerian Education Minister Abu Bekr Ben Bouzid ordered Monday to open investigations following complaints from pupils’ parents about “money embezzlement” in the funds collected from parents associations

• In a meeting with the minister, president of the Federation of Pupils’ Parents Hadj Delalou said the collected money from parents’ annual contributions has no concrete trace in the school scene.
• Without mentioning the value of the “embezzled money,” the federation’s president said it was collected from 20,000 associations throughout Algeria.
• On the other hand, the parent’s federation representative urged the education minister to increase the number of parents’ associations to more than 25,000.
• He also stressed the necessity of promulgating a law to protect the associations and organize its work.
• Over 8 millions pupils started the 2008-2009 academic year in Algeria. The number rose up by 5.4 percent compared to the last year.