"The French leads nowhere," said Bouzid Tayeb in early July. The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Algeria has therefore summoned the rectors to write the headers of administrative documents in Arabic and English, as of July 21, replacing the French.
The language of Shakespeare is de rigueur for scientific publications, international trade and tourism, its teaching should, according to Bouzid Tayeb, allow to offer visibility to the Algerian research work and attract foreign students.
French, first foreign language
In this former French colony, where the official languages are Arabic and Berber, French remains the first foreign language spoken by Algerians. In fact, it is taught in the third year of primary school as a second language and courses in some university courses, especially in science, are totally taught in French.
French is a "spoils of war", according to the expression of the French writer Kateb Yacine. It is equally rooted in Algerian literature (Yasmina Khadra, Boualem Sansal, Assia Djebar, Kamel Daoud) as in the daily lives of Algerians.
Minister's decision mocked
The announcement by Minister Bouzid Tayeb, presented after an "online survey of the university community" in less than two weeks, has elicited many reactions.
Critics question the legitimacy of a government challenged by the street, to engage the country in a new language policy.
This debate "deserved better than a ridiculous instruction and a Facebook poll sent quickly", regrets a lawyer on condition of anonymity. And to emphasize that the Algerian education system is not ready for a transition "messy". "Do we have such a small opinion of our children that they can not excel in both French and English, at the same time, if the right conditions are guaranteed?" Asks the lawyer.
You are a student in Mechanical Engineering, you come to attend at 8am a TP "mechanical tests on materials" .. then your teacher balance (this machine does not work, the TP is canceled)
what is the solution? provide good material for your lab, or teach in English ?.
On social networks, Algerian netizens ridicule the decision of the minister in several languages and emphasize the lack of resources allocated to higher education.
Like Sihem Kouras, teacher in sociolinguistics in French at the University of Jijel, contacted by France 24, for whom "the volume of time devoted to foreign languages is considered insufficient".
For its part, the famous Algerian satirical website El Manchar quips: "The Algerian universities in the top 10 thanks to the introduction of English in the letterhead. [...] The effect is immediate. Algerian universities soar in the rankings [Shanghai, Ed] The Harvard response, Stanford and Cambridge will it be up to the mark? ", continues the news site parody.
"A bone thrown to the people"
For the detractors of the minister, this decision is out of step with the political crisis that Algeria has been going through for several months, which has led millions of Algerians on the streets. Many of them believe that bringing the language war up to date is a political strategy that aims to divide the protesters.
The debate on languages is known and has nothing new, recalls the academic Sihem Kouras. In the current context, it is a "bone thrown to the people to occupy and possibly divide it," she said.
Algerians question the strategy of the executive. "The reforms often fall on us," lashes the linguist Sihem Kouras, who would have preferred that students and teachers are consulted and pilot classes created before imposing a political choice.
The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Algeria has not responded to our interview requests.